Messages on the Wall
by Sciencegal
Summary: Four ninja brothers forced into slavery. Separated against their will and thought to never see each other again. Each ninja is out against overwhelming odds only to be broken in the end. The only thing that keeps them sane is the Messages on the Wall
1. Prolouge

**Authors note:**I hope you like this story as much as I...um...enjoyed writing it. It came with an idea I wanted to try. If this story ends up depressing you, I have accomplished my mission. Now don't kill me if your favorite turtle ends up broken (psychologically speaking...). I'm just the writer... (looks around shiftily) Enjoy! I'm actually glad the turtles do not belong to me...

Leo's POV:

The day started normal enough. I mean no one would ever expect what went on afterward. We were just going to April's place. All of us. It was just a normal visit. We didn't expect anything out of the ordinary. We arrived safely enough, but after a few minutes, everything went to shell…

Slowly, I regain consciousness. My head is killing me. I can feel my blood drip down my shell. I open my eyes slightly to see my brothers, Master Splinter, April, and Casey unconscious around me. How could this happen? We were so unprepared…

The Foot had surrounded us. They had come from nowhere as they were trained to do. I can't believe I didn't see it coming. I'm supposed to protect my family. I'm supposed to keep them safe from this kind of thing. They shouldn't have been able to surprise us…

A sharp, intense pain from my injury distracts me. I moan 'cause it's all I can do. I'm weak and I can't move. I can barely see Mikey move slightly. I can see the pain in his eyes when they snap open. I look at him and silently ask if he's alright. He doesn't respond at first. A moan escapes his lips as my pain causes me to slip back to unconsciousness…

How could this happen? How could they manage to bring us down? I had to call a retreat. There were too many. They wouldn't stay down for too long. I can't believe I led them to an even worse situation. Even though we managed to get out of the building, we were not out of danger…

I try to wake up again. I have to for my family. I have to find out were we are. I can barely remember being thrown in here like a rag doll. I think it's a truck, but it's hard to tell. I try to move a little to better see my surroundings. It makes my pain worse and I cry out. Master Splinter looks at me. I see he's awake also. He shakes his head slightly as his pain causes him to close his eyes tighter. He's telling me not to move. My pain clouds my vision as I try to think about what to do next…

We were supposed to be safe when we exited April's shop. It should have been over, but it had only begun. They had come out of the shadows. I remember seeing them out of the corner of my eye before they brought me down. There had been no escape. No hope to retreat. They had captured us all…

I feel the truck slow and I try to sit up. Raph follows suit, but the others seem unable to. I turn to see Raph holding back his blood from a deep cut in his arm. I hear the doors began to open and I quickly turn towards the sound. I wince from the pain I feel, but otherwise show no weakness to my enemy.

The Shredder is at the opening. I can hear him laugh sinisterly at our weakness and I try to get closer to him with an angry expression. I see Raph had tried to do the same, but we both halt at Master Splinter's whisper. I can tell Raph really wanted to shred the Shredder, but he manages to resist the urge.

The Shredder order the Foot to remove us from the truck and I feel arms roughly grab me by my shoulders. They drag me out and toss me in front of my mortal enemy. I try to look up at him, but I feel more arms grab me and pull me away. I look up just in time to see a red-hot brander as it makes contact with my right shoulder. I scream as I feel my skin burn from the contact. My family and friends screams tell me I am not the only one getting this treatment.

I grab my arm as soon as the brander is removed and wince. I look at it and see the burned mess of my shoulder. The sight causes me to instantly look away. I suddenly hear Raph yell and I look up to see two muscular men began to drag Mikey away. I hear The Shredder as he taunts us with the idea of never seeing each other again. I can't believe what's happening. Why is it happening?

Again, I feel someone grab me and drag me away from my family. We all try to resist, but our brutal beating from before has weakened us immensely. I can't live with the fact that I might not be able to see each other again. I have to find a way out of this mess. I don't know what's in store for us and I don't want to find out.

April's POV:

I've never been so hurt in my life. I can barely stay conscious and the burn on my arm doesn't help. They began to drag me away and I can hear the guys protest the separation. I have a feeling it won't help. With my eyes barely open, I look around. I first see a large mountain before they drag me through an opening in it. It shocks me to see people of all ages in shabby, ripped up clothes. They don't look at me as they drag me past them. It's dark here and I can barely see their faces.

A tall, grey building comes into view and they carry me inside. It looks hi-tech here and I can see the Foot insignia everywhere. The men carry me to an elevator and toss me inside. I can hear them press a button and I feel the elevator start to move upwards.

After awhile, it stops and they force me back out. They drag me to a room and push me inside. Before they leave, they strap something around my ankle. With a click, the door is locked behind them. I sit up and look around as I hold by head. I see an oriental bed and a wooden carved dresser next to it. If I wasn't scared for my life, I'd probably enjoy the comfort they left me in. I look down at my ankle and see a metal bracelet locked around it. It worries me, but I try to ignore it for now.

Casey's POV:

Stupid ninjas! They will pay once I am able to move enough! No one can take down the Great Casey Jones! I may be down now, but not for long!

Well, that's what I was thinking as they drag me past ragged looking people of all ages and into a large grey building. They force me into an elevator, which begins to go down almost immediately. I briefly wonder where they are taking me. I try to get away, but they manage to keep a firm hand on me. As soon as the door opens, they force me out and drag me through a long hallway. It was dark and I didn't get to see much of it before they force me through the door and into a room with a shabby bed that looks very uncomfortable.

I crawl to the door and bang on it for several long minutes, but no one comes. They will pay for locking me in here, but how can I get out?

**Author's note:** Um...what do ya think...? Oh! If you kill me now, you won't be able to find out what happens next!


	2. Chapter 1

**Authors note:** Sorry for the previous mistake... Alright, here's the chapter! Couldn't wait to post it actually! Splinter and Casey are hard to write so they, sadly, don't have as many POVs as the rest of them... (Anyway, Casey's kinda boring considering his locked in one room all the time!) Raph's hard too for that matter, but I enjoy writing him...kinda... Everyone wakes up for the brand new day! Hehehe...

Mikey's POV:

The memories of last night gave me nightmares. I'm surprised I slept at all. A tear falls down my face while I am sleeping and I unconsciously wipe it away.

"GET UP, YA LAZY BUMS!" I hear someone yell. I quickly sit up, startled. Chains clink together as I move and I look to see chains shackled around my ankles, wrists, and neck. It wasn't a dream. I lay down hoping the nightmare will go away, but someone grabs me by my chains and roughly pull me off the bed. I hit the ground hard and try to sit up. My eyes fall on a very muscular man standing over me still holding my chains in his fist.

"I was told I could kill ya if I want, turtle," The man says, "I'd listen up if I were ya."

"Want do you think you're doing?" I hear another man ask and I turn to see an old man with the Foot insignia burned into his right shoulder and a tattoo of a snake on his left shoulder. His clothes hang limply on him and he looks like he hadn't taken a shower in years.

The dude stands up and I'm briefly able to see a metal thing strapped around his ankle before his ripped pant leg covers it. He walks over to us and says, "He's still new to this hell. He'll get used to it over time."

"What gives ya the right ta talk ta a guard like that?" The other man asks.

"I know it's not my place and I'd rather leave it well enough alone, but let me handle the irresponsible turtle. I'll keep him in line."

"Ya better 'cause I'd love ta kill this thing-" He says as he pulls me chains forward and kicks me "-for all the trouble he and his brothers caused for my master." The guard leaves and I quickly get to my feet.

"Thanks, dude, I guess," I say.

"Call me Chief."

"I'm Michelangelo," I say.

"Come on, kid," Chief says as he grabs my arm and starts walking towards the door, "You've got to get assigned to a job. You can't be lazy here." He turns to me as we reach the door, "Don't let them break you here, kid." Then he opens the door and we walk out. The guard from before is there, waiting. Chief leads me over, but I try to resist unsuccessfully.

"Turtle," The guard says when we get close enough, "You are to work in the factory."

"The factory?" Chief asks, "You want him dead?"

"That is my orders, slave."

Chief turns to me and says, "Keep out of trouble there and you might be alright. The mines are worse, but the factory's still dangerous. If you slip up, you could end up dead."

"Dead?!" I say weakly. Chief nods as the guard begins to drag me away. I pass a large grey building and stop. I can someone chained Christ-like in front of the building with his head held down. As I stare at him, the battered prisoner looks directly at me. I blink a few times, unbelievingly as tears fall down my face. It's Master Splinter and I can tell he is not in good shape.

"MOVE SLAVE!" The guard yells as he roughly pulls my chains. I start walking, but my eyes never leave my sensei's face.

Raph's POV:

I hear someone yell at me, but I'm not sure of what was said. I continue to sleep and ignore the insistent yelling. The voice calls again. I think it wants me to get up, but I don't care.

"Why should I?" I yell with my eyes still closed. I suddenly feel bolts of electricity surge through my body and my eyes snap open. The pain causes me to yell out, but I try to ignore it as best I can.

"GET UP, NOW!" I hear someone yell. I feel arms grab me and pull me off the bed. I hit the ground hard and I can't sit up. "You have work ta do!"

"What work?" I ask, "'Cause I'm not doin' anythin'!"

"I think you-" The man says as he kicks me "-need ta be punished." Arms grab me and I feel myself lifted off the ground. "It's the trench for you."

"And what's that?" I ask, harshly.

"Someplace that should teach ya a lesson."

I am carried out of the room and far away from the building. I can hear the sound of metal against metal and then I'm dropped down a deep ditch in the ground. I look up to see a grate close over me and he leaves me here.

When his footsteps die down, I try to climb up the wall, but find it too slippery. The rough edges of the wall cut into my skin and I am forced to give up. I find I can't get comfortable. It's so cramped I find it hard to move without getting cut up. They will pay for putting me in here! My first day here and I'm already unable to do anything but wait till the stupid cowards come back and get me out!

Donny's POV:

I am forced to wake up early today and I hurriedly get off my bed. I don't who these people are, but I guess I'll have to go along with it for now. I walk out of the room and walk towards the guard outside. He sneers as I get closer to him.

"You are to work in the mountain trails. Follow me." The guard says. I follow as ordered. He leads me towards the far end of the place. Another guard waits for me and he gives me my orders. He leads me up a treacherous mountain path to where I see people carrying large boulders up and down the mountain. He leaves me and I wonder what to do next.

"Come on, kid. Get moving." A man says from behind me. I turn and see a middle-aged man with ripped and dirty clothes. "Ya need ta start moving these here rocks," He says, "If ya don't you'll be electrocuted or taken to the trench. Believe that trench isn't pleasant. They leave ya there fer a few days with no food. It's meant to break people. I wouldn't want ya ta end up breakin'." I nod and follow him. "What's yer name, kid?"

"Donatello," I respond as I try to pick up one of the boulders. They are heavy, but I manage to at least get it off the ground. The man follows carrying his own boulder.

"I'm Cliff," The man says. As I walk, I feel someone bump into me. I drop the boulder, almost crushing my foot, and turn towards the disturbance.

"Clumsy much?" A man asks. I can tell he's the one who bumped into me. "I've seen faster work, but I shouldn't expect much. You're a turtle."

"That doesn't mean anythin'!" I say, angrily, "I can run at a higher velocity than you!"

"Ooh, the turtle with the big words. I'm soo scared!"

"Shut up!" I yell. I can hear laughing all around me. The man steps forward and punches me to the ground. I sit up and try to block as more men begin kicking me. I'm surrounded. One of them steps on me before he is thrown off. Cliff does the same to the rest of them and offers me his hand. I take it and he helps me to my feet.

"Thanks," I say, holding my chest painfully.

"You'll hafta be more careful. Ignore you're pain and get back to work." He says. I nod.

Leo's POV:

I awake to yelling voices telling me to get up. I jump out of bed and examine my surroundings. The one-room cottage is filled with beds. Some are anchored to the wall above others. I walk outside and approach the man waiting for me.

"You are ta work construction, turtle." The man says.

"Work?" I ask. "Where are my brothers?"

"I am not ta answer yer questions." He says, "Now follow me."

"Why?" I ask. The guard ignores me and begins to drag me by my chains. As we past by the grey building, I can see Master Splinter chained to two pillars in front of it. He looks weak from multiple beatings. I yell out for him and he looks up at me.

"Do not resist me!" The guard says as I am electrocuted, "If ya do, you will be sent to the trench. You're lucky it's already occupied." Then they manage to drag me away from my sensei.

April's POV:

I awake to the sounds of movement in the room. I open my eyes to see two women dressed in kimonos. They stop what they are doing and look at me.

"You're finally awake!" One of them says, "Here, put this one." She hands me a kimono. I unfold it and hold it up in front of me. I realize it's a purple low-cut, short-sleeved, short belly dress. I shake my head.

"I am NOT wearin' this." I say.

"You have to!" The second woman says, fearfully.

"Ya can't make me," I say.

"If you don't, he will kill you!" The first one says.

"Who?" I ask as I stand up.

"The Shredder of course!"

"HE wants me ta wear this?" I ask as I hold out the kimono arms length away from me. "Absolutely NOT!"

"I'm sorry, but it's the rules here. Even we have to where them."

"Yeah, but yours are not as... revealing... as mine!"

"He will punish you for resisting."

About fifteen minutes later, I come out of my room, wearing the dreadful thing. To make matters worse, the Shredder happened to be waiting for me.

"Come my dear," He says, "You have work to do."

"And why would I work for you?" I ask, bravely.

"'Cause I have the upper hand." I feel electricity surge through my body. I crumple to the floor as the he walks over to me and lifts me by m neck. "Do not resist me." He says as he throws me to the ground. "Now get to your feet!" I weakly follow his orders as I rub my now bruised neck. I hope the guys can find a way out of here...

Splinter's POV:

I've seen three of my sons walk past me. They are shackled in a humiliating way and there's nothing I can do. I don't care about the pain I'm in. Watching my sons from afar with no way to help them is far worse.

The effort to lift my head is enormous, but I have to be observant. I close my eyes and let my mind see what I cannot. I hope they find a way to communicate. Then, I know, they will pull through.

**Author's note:** Please review!


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's note:** Here's the next chapter. Sorry 'bout the long wait. I had to almost force myself to type this up. I'm so lazy when a story's already officially finished like this one is. Meet Jona (or Joe as she likes to be called). She's the one with Mikey in this chapter... Then ya can meet Caden! I love Caden! He's so...thinks he's tough and yet he's energetic like Mikey! He's with Leo. Well, you already met Cliff in the last chapter with Don... And Chief Crayne as well with Mikey... Hmm... There's still two more OCs that come later! That includes Trek and Annie! Trek comes next chapter, Annie way farther off. Well I'll stop typing now so you can read the next chapter!

Mikey's POV:

The factory is huge on the outside. I am forced inside to see a crowded room like that out of a movie. A red-ish, orange-ish light fills the room in an eerie way. Maybe I am dreaming? If so, when will I wake up?

A guard walks up to me as I am looking at my surroundings. He hands me a strange, glowing thing and tells me I'm supposed to destroy it in a fiery pit. "If you drop it, it will explode," The guard says, "You are to be careful with it. Now get going!" I nervously nod and begin to climb the set of stairs he indicated to me. In front of me was someone with short dirty brown hair. I trip on the stairs and the person quickly turns and stops the strange device I was carrying before it hits the ground.

"Be careful, will ya?!" The person says in a girl's voice that surprises me. "Ya could get us killed if ya make that a habit, ya clumsy fool!" I stare at her as I realize how pretty she was under all that grime and ripped up clothes. I notice the Foot insignia had been burned on her right shoulder.

"Stop yer gawkin', dung-fer-brains!" She hisses at me.

"Why do ya have that on your shoulder?" I ask her.

"All of us got one," She says, "Even you, idiot!" She pokes me in by burned right shoulder causing me to wince before she continues, "Yers jus' hasn't healed yet."

"Huh?" I say as I look at my arm. The burn doesn't look like anything to me, but she probably was right.

"They do that to everyone that walks into this hell," She says. She turns away from me then and walks up the rest of the stairs. After we toss what we were holding into the pit, I follow down a different flight of stairs.

"What's your name anyway?" I ask her.

"Ugh! Why do you insist un bugging me, ya crazy turtle?" She asks, harshly.

"'Cause I wonder how a hot chick like you ended up-" I begin, but I'm not able to finish before she slams her fist into my jaw. "Oww!" I yell as I rub the spot, "What was that for?"

"Forget about me, idiot," She says, "Don't eva talk ta me again, ya hear me?"

"What's your problem?" I ask, "Don't call me an idiot! I have a name!"

"Does it look like I care, ya worthless idiot?" She says, her face only inches from my own.

"I said don't call me an idiot! My name's Michelangelo!" I say completely irritated.

"I don't care!"

"Is there a problem here?" Asks a voice I recognize. I turn, quickly, to face Hun as he approaches us. If my day could get any worse… I watch as he presses something and I instantly collapse as electricity goes through my body. I hear the girl scream as well, but she seems more used to it then I am.

"Get up!" Hun says as he kicks me. I try to obey him, but I guess he doesn't think I'm fast enough. He lifts me by my neck and looks at me as I struggle against him. "I'll make sure you get the punishment you deserve and I'll enjoy every minute of it." He says. He lets me fall to the ground and I begin breathing heavily, rubbing my sore neck. Huns laughs at me and I glare back at him before swinging my leg around to trip him. He instantly falls to the ground and I feel the electricity go through by body again. He slowly gets to his feet, watching me.

"You'll pay fer that later," Hun says, "When the trench is unoccupied."

"What trench?" I ask as he finally stops the current.

"You'll hafta find out later," He says as he leaves me.

Leo's POV:

The guards lead me to a large road where people in ragged old clothing are already working. "Start helping!" A guard says as he pushes me forward. I glance back at him as he tells what he wants me to do and orders me to my working area. My job is to fix the road while trucks zoom by without paying attention. Thanks to my training, I'm able to avoid all of the apathetic drivers.

A few feet in front of me, a young teenage boy, probably only a few years younger then me, catches my attention. I notice a truck heading right towards him, but he doesn't seem to notice. I quickly run over to him and pull him out of the way just in time. The boy looks at me with wide eyes.

"You saved my life?" He asks. I nod and a grin slowly forms on his face. "That was so awesome, turtle-dude!" He says. "My name's Caden."

"Leonardo," I say.

"Well Leo, it's great ta meetcho!" He says, his grin getting wider.

"Hey!" A guard calls to us, "Get back to work, slackers!"

"Go find sum'thin' betta ta do then stick yer ugly nose in otha people's business!" Caden shouts at the guard.

"Now your place, slave!" The guard says back.

"Caden!" I say sternly, "You shouldn't say that stuff. They could kill you in an instant if they wanted to."

"Don't worry 'bout me, turtle-dude," He says, "Their jus-" I quickly cover his mouth before he can finish. I wait until the guard walks away before I remove my hand.

"I said don't insult them," I say.

"That wasn't cool, dude," Caden says. I roll my eyes at this kid. He reminds me of my brothers. I hope they're alright. If they're not, then it's all my fault.

Donny's POV;

Night had fallen and I am forced back to the bunkroom. The day is finally over and I'm exhausted. My muscles ache from carrying those heavy boulders and I have bruises from that fight with that guy. I can't wait to fall asleep even if the bed is really uncomfortable. I hope my brothers are alright. And Master Splinter! I remember seeing him as I dropped off my first set of boulders. I really hope he's alright.

I am also worried about April and Casey. I have no idea where they are and I hope they're not going through what I had to today. If Leo were with me, he'd think of a plan in a minute and we'd already be on our way out. Well, maybe he'll at least find a way to communicate with us.

As soon as my head hits the pillow, I'm instantly asleep. Maybe my dreams will be better then reality.

Casey's POV:

I'm starving! Maybe I should've eaten that mush they gave me earlier, but I had refused. What was that stuff anyway? It couldn't have been any kind of food I knew of. It looked more like something the cat barfed up.

I start walking back and forth in my cell. When I reach the door, I pound on it hoping someone would come and get me out of here. No one comes. I guess I can't expect too much from my captors. They will pay when I get out of here!

I yawn loudly and I realize how tired I am. There are no windows in this place, but I guess it had to be night now. I can't stop thinking about what could be happening to April right now. They better be treating her well or they'll have me to answer to!

I sit on the cot and began to think about the guys. How are they doing right now? I'm sure they can handle themselves, but when they're alone? I don't think they're used to separation like this. I hope they are alright. I'd expect Leo to help them find a way out.

**Author's note:** Ack, it gets better, I assure you. Well, actually it gets more dramatic. I can do dramatic, but setting up the scene is where I falter... Please review so the next chapter will come quicker then this one did! I can't wait 'til I introduce Trek! He's so awesome! Trekcarion being his full first name... See ya later. Gotta update my Leo romance story now!


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's note:** I was in the mood to type today so here's another chapter! Mikey's POV almost made me wanna quit 'cause it's so long! He always gets the longest ones! Ugh! Well this chapter has everyone but Splinter and Casey, so enjoy it! Trek comes in now! Yay!

**Disclaimer:** I am sure the turtles and company are glad I don't own them, but the plot and OCs are mine alone! Though I do give my friend some credit for plot ideas...

Raph's POV:

Judging from the light from above, I've been in this stupid trench for two days. I'm hungry and cranky. I couldn't get much sleep while I was in here. There's no room to move and that can get really annoying.

I hear footsteps above me and the guards open the grate. The pull me out and lay me on the ground. I quickly get to my feet, but I stumble and would've fallen if they hadn't caught me.

"Let go!" I say, my voice a little scratchy.

"As you wish," One of the guards says. They let me fall back to the ground and began laughing. I glare at them as I get to my feet again.

"Come on, slave," Another guard says, "You still have work to do."

"Whaddaya mean, work?" I ask them.

"You get the lovely job of working in the mines, turtle." He says, "You get food after you work." I glare at the guards as they grab my chains and start to drag me away with them. On my way, I spot Master Splinter. Seeing him like that causes anger to grow within me.

They stop at an entrance of a dark cave and push me into it. I follow the sounds of mining into an area lit by torches. Slowly, I walk inside and sit down against the wall.

"Here," I hear someone say. I look up into the face of an alien with olive green skin standing above me. His tentacle-like hair is tied back with a thin brown cord and there are colored straps wrapped around his hair and long, muscular tail. In his hands, he's holding a dish with some kind of soup and some bread. I take it from his hands and stare down at it for a minute. It smells terrible, but right now, I'm too hungry to care. I drain the soup in one swallow and eat the bread just as fast. I still feel slightly hungry when I'm done, but there's nothing I can do about it.

"You should have eaten slower," The alien says, shaking his head with a slight smile. "I thought you would be hungry after a few days in that trench. I was there when they took you away."

"Who are you?" I ask him.

"My name is Trekcarion, but you may call me Trek."

"I'm Raphael," I say in response, "Do ya know why we hafta mine this stupid tunnel?"

"This tunnel is filled with minerals and powerful gems the Shredder wants for his new empire." Trek explains, "That is all I can tell you at this point."

"Well, it's enough fer me ta know dat I don't want anythin' ta do wit' dis place!" I say as I get to my feet.

"You have no choice, Raphael," Trek says as he looks at me, "You have experienced the trench, but there are other, worse, tortures in this place. The place for example can cave-in at any time. Oxygen can thin to a point that is extremely dangerous and a poisonous gas can fill this area in a moments notice. This is the most dangerous job here, second is the factory. There are so many ways you can die here. You must be careful."

"Stupid mines!" I say as I angrily sit back down.

April's POV:

Two full days of serving the Shredder already has me annoyed. I have a few bruises now for disobeying, but I still resist him. I am NOT going to be the Shredder's personal servant! Every time I get near a window, I look out of it. I'm too far up to see anything, but I know the guys are out there somewhere. I hope I don't have to be here long. The kimono I am forced to wear is ridiculous! _Come on guys, I know you can think of something!_

Leo's POV:

I have found that Caden always seems to find a way to get into trouble. It's almost like he looks for it! I've tried to stop him, but he doesn't seem to realized what he's doing could get him killed. I've also learned that practicing any form of ninjitsu is forbidden here. If I am to train, I'll have to do it in private. I hate that. Somehow, I've got to find a way to communicate to my brothers. I've got to make sure they are alright.

I look up from my work then just in time to see Hun walking towards me. He seems to be in a bad mood and I briefly wonder why. As he approaches me, he presses something causing me to collapse as electricity surges through my body. Caden looks at me and then at Hun curiously.

"What was that for, ya big bully?" Caden asks Hun as he stands to his feet. He collapses soon after and I can guess Hun electrocuted him as well.

"Your problem is with me, Hun!" I yell, "Leave him alone!"

"I will enjoy breaking you," Hun says to me. He picks me up by my neck and throws me into an oncoming truck. I'm thrown off and skid on the ground for a bit. I lay there as Hun walks over to me. "Just like your brothers."

"Don't you dare hurt them!" I say as I weakly get to my feet.

"I already have and you can't do anything about it!" Hun says. I know he's right about the last part. There's no way I would be able to do anything to stop him. I don't even know where my brothers are! How can I help them when I'm not there with them?

Hun punches me with his fist while I'm distracted. The force causes me to fall back onto the ground. As he gets ready to punch me again, I see Caden run up behind him. The kid grabs hold of Hun, but Hun just turns and throws Caden off of him. He hits the ground, hard, and I quickly get up and run towards him.

"Caden?" I ask as I lift him off the ground. His faded bandana had fallen off and I pick it up.

"I'm okay," Caden says as he opens his eyes. "Ow! My head!" He reaches for his head as I carry him off the road. I set him down, gently and look back at Hun. He has a wicked smile on his face from the other side of the road. I watch as he turns and walks away.

"I'll be back," He promises as he leaves. I turn back to Caden just in time to see him struggle to his feet. I quickly catch him before he falls.

"You shouldn't have done that." I say, firmly.

"That guy was just so uncool," He says, "I had ta do something."

"Caden," I say, slowly, "Just let me take care of him, alright?"

"Ya weren't doin' too well on ya own, turtle-dude." He says.

Donny's POV:

More work? I'm still exhausted from the last two days of it! As I go to pick up another boulder, I stop as that guy from before threatens to trip me. I had gotten used to it, but it still annoys the shell out of me. I turn to the guy with my fists clenched.

"Stop doing that!" I say with my teeth clenched together.

"What? Am I botherin' you?" The guy asks. I would have punched then if Cliff hadn't of held me back. I turn towards him and see his unreadable expression. He walks past me and lifts the guy by the front of his torn shirt. I can't hear what he says as he holds the guy over the edge of the cliff. The guy nods with fear in his eyes and then Cliff tosses the guy onto solid ground. As soon as he hits the guy, he backs away from Cliff as far as possible. I'm even more curious of what Cliff had said to the guy, but I instead just get back to my work.

Mikey's POV:

I heard someone call that girl Jone and she had yelled at the guy. She seems to like Joe better. I wonder why. I also wonder how long she's been here. I should ask her now. She had been avoiding me over the past few days, but his morning I am going to corner her. It should be easy for me.

I enter the factory building and look around for her. I smile as I spot her carrying something up the metal staircase. I hold me chains so I won't make a sound as I approach my target. I walk slowly and wait for her to start going down the other staircase. When she does, I block her path.

"Hi Joe!" I say with a cheesy smile.

"You stupid idiot!" She almost yells. I ignore the insult for now. I kind of expected it.

"So, how long have you been here?" I ask, "You seem to know a lot about this place!"

"Why do ya insist on talkin' ta me? I have work ta do!" She tries to shove me aside, but I manage to stay where I am. She sure is strong for a girl! "Move!" She says loudly, but I stay where I am. "You crazy stupid fool! Move right now or I'll make ya!"

"I'm not movin'," I say with my arms crossed firmly.

"Yes ya are!" She says as she kicks me hard and roughly pushes me hard. I Land on the ground with a grunt and she walks right over me, purposefully stepping on me as she does. I get to my feet as soon as I can and run after her.

"Where are ya goin'?" I ask when I realize she's not going back to work.

"Shh!" She hisses at me without turning around. "Why don'tcha get back ta work ya lazy scumbag." She whispers, "And stop followin' me."

"Where are ya goin'?" I repeat in a whisper. She turns to glare at me.

"None of yer business!" She says in a harsh whisper. She turns away from me before she says, "If ya continue ta follow me, you'll give me away with yer stupid chains."

"I can keep them silent," I say as I lift them off the ground so they don't drag against the floor. "There!" I say, brightly.

"This is not a game ya know. Ya could get killed."

"I know," I say as I look down at my feet, "I've figured that out already." She turns back at me again, but I don't look up.

"What's yer prob'em?" She asks me. I'm surprised when I hear sympathy in her voice. I look up at her, shocked. "Are ya goin' ta answer me 'r not?" She asks, this time the sympathy was gone.

"You actually care, don'tcha?" I ask, smiling.

"Where'dja get that idea?" She asks.

"So how 'bout we meet someplace when it's dark?" I ask, "Most of the guards should be asleep by then." She looks at me as if I've gone mad.

"Ya wouldn't be able ta sneak out if ya tried!" She says.

"Wanna bet?" I ask. She seems to be thinking about her decision before she stops and looks over my shoulder.

"Oh no," She says, "It's that guard again." I turn to see what she's talking about and I see Hun walking towards us.

"Hun?" I ask out loud. "What's his problem?" I soon see his sinister smile and I'm able to guess. As he nears me, I realize he's probably going to make me regret tripping him two days before.

When he's close enough to hear me, I ask, "So what's been going on?" He doesn't answer as he grabs my chains and begins to drag me away.

"It's time for you to pay." He says.

"What have I done?" I ask as I try to resist. I grab hold of anything I can to slow him down, but nothing works. He just jerks my chains and I fall forward. I try to get back to my feet as he continues to drag me and grab both sides of the doorframe of the building.

"I'm not going with you!" I say as I struggle to keep hold of it.

"Yes you are!" He says as he walks closer to me, grabs the chain attached to my neck and pulls at it. My head jerks forward a bit, but I still manage to hold on.

"Where are ya taking me anyway?" I ask.

"You'll find out when we get there. Now LET GO!" He says as he jerks all my chains. My hand slips and he manages to pull me out of the building, but not before Joe grabs me around my waist and braces herself against the door. I turn my head to look at her amazed.

"You are one strange girl." I tell her.

"Ya can't take 'im if he didn't do anythin'!" Joe yells at Hun, "He doesn't deserve ta go to tha trench yet!" _She had to say the 'yet' didn't she?_

"Do ya always have to make trouble?" Hun asks her, "He and his brothers deserve anything they get here."

"They don't deserve this," I yell, "You do!"

"Why you little-"

"You can come back for him when he actually does something stupid, but I won't let ya take 'im this time!" Joe yells.

"Ya know, I can't tell if you're trying to help me or insult me with that last statement." I say. She continues to ignore my comments.

"Let him go, ya stupid girl!" Hun yells as he tries to pull me out of her hands. "That's it!" He yells. A second after he drops my chains, he electrocutes Joe and me. She lets go of me instantly and Hun manages to drag me away.

I'm still worn out because of the electricity, so I don't struggle anymore. I hear the sound of metal scraping against metal and Hun lowers me into a deep trench. He replaces the grate above me and leaves me here. I thought today was going to be a good day! Hun just had to ruin it for me.

I feel something pressing into me and I turn to find myself face-to-face with a human skull! I would have screamed, but I just manage to hold it back. _Great! Instead of hanging with Joe, a.k.a a hot girl, I am going to be hanging with a bunch of bones! My life is just great, isn't it?_

**Author's note:** So whaddaya think?? Please review!


	5. Chapter 4

**Author's note:** Alright, I did say this chapter would be up "tomorrow" but it turned out a little late... It's the next day already for me (it's still night though...)! I added another Leo's POV at the end 'cause it fit better for this chapter. Gives ya a little more suspence ya know? Casey and Splinter don't get another POV for some time now. Closer to the end, they do. This is still in my first notebook! (I actually filled a 70 sheet notebook and halway through another to give a visual on the length. Someone asked about death in this story. Yes, there's death. I won't tell you who though, you'll have to read and find out! There will be torture and a whole lot of violence (if you hadn't figured that out yet) as well! Can't wait 'til you read this chapter! It's going to be horrific! My sister actually attacked me physically (she hit me with my notebook) when she read it, because of what you will read in this chapter. Things are starting to look bad for the turtles... Forgot to add my hatrid for the first Leo's POV. It starts off bad as do most of them...but gets better towards the middle!

**Disclaimer:** Don't own the turtles and company (though I did see a normal hundred year old snapping turtle on television while I was completing this chapter...) and they don't want me to. Plot and all Ocs (characters you do not recognise) are MINE! Speacial thanks always to by bestest friend who helped me with the plot (though she hated doing it!)!

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Leo's POV:

It's been a week now and the road's finished. I'm about to get reassigned. Caden's standing next to me. There's a bandage wrapped around his head that is hidden under his bandana. He tries to hide it from me, because he knows it bothers me. Hun will pay for hurting an innocent kid. I clench my fist and Caden notices it. He quickly fixes his bandana and looks down at the ground.

The guard approaches us then and I turn towards him. "You are to work on the Empire Building now. The Shredder wants it remodeled."

"I bet he does," I mumble under my breath. The guard then leads us back inside the mountain towards the grey building I remember from before. For the first time, I notice a second building next to it. I ignore it for now as I turn back to what I now know as the Empire Building. My attention is drawn to Master Splinter who's still chained up in front of it. Every time I see him, he looks worse. I watch as Hun exits the building and begins to walk straight towards me.

"I hope you'll enjoy your new working area." He says.

"Keep your distance," I say, warningly. Hun ignores me and continues towards me.

"Your brothers should have lost it by now." He says, "By being thrown in the trench as many times as they have. That reminds me. You still haven't gone yet. Would you like to find out what they went through? Placed in a cramped ditch deep in the ground with no food until they are released." I glare at him but stay silent. I'm afraid if I say anything, I might lose my self-control. I don't want to give him what he wants. "Your youngest brother has been giving me a bit of trouble lately, but don't worry. He'll never fool around again." I hope he's just lying to me. Still, I don't say anything. "Maybe I'll kill one of them later. After I slowly torture them until they beg for it. I'll make sure they feel everything I do to them. I'll slowly tear them apart before I kill you." This time I can't hold it back. I charge at him and punch him as hard as I can. He falls to the ground, but before I can hit him again, three guards pounce on me and hold me back. Hun slowly gets back to his feet, whipping the blood off his lip with his arm. I smile in satisfaction as I watch him.

"That was a mistake," Hun says. I know he's right, but his comment doesn't faze me. "Take him to the trench." He orders the guards holding me, "It's about time he gets the punishment he deserves." The guards nods and begins dragging me away. I struggle half-heartedly. It's time to face what my brothers already have. Maybe something good will come out of it…

Donny's POV:

I wonder how my brothers are doing. I wish I could at least see them once in a while. Maybe that will be enough so I can concentrate on working more. I need a distraction, but unfortunately don't have that option. The guards told us to start working on just clearing the mountain pass. Now I don't have to go up and down the mountain anymore. As I'm working, I hear someone walk up behind me. I turn around and I'm surprised to see Hun walking over to me. His lip is bleeding badly (it resembles a volcano if you wanted to know…) and I briefly wonder who had done it. He's actually smiling as he approaches me.

"What do you want?" I ask.

"I've come to punish you," He says. I look at him strangely.

"What have I done?" I ask.

"It's not what you have done," He says as he wipes the blood still seeping out of his busted lip.

"So, which one of my brothers did that to you?" I ask as I point at it. He grabs my hand and begins to crush it with his fist. I hold back my scream of pain and almost fall to my knees. He sneers at me as he kicks me away from him. I hit the wall of the mountain and slid to the ground. Thankfully, he had kicked me towards the mountain instead of away from it or I would be dead now.

I try to get back up, but I as soon as I put pressure on my broken hand I instantly collapse. Hun pulls my head back by bandana tails and punches me in my face. He releases me, letting my fall back down to the ground, and then stomps down on my shell. He picks me back up by my neck and I struggle against him before he slams my head into the wall behind me. My vision gets fuzzy and I struggle to stay conscious as he lets me fall back down to the ground. I can't lift myself up anymore. I feel him smash his fist into the back of my head. It's getting harder to stay awake now. Still, I try to resist the darkness clouding my vision. It seems pointless to try anymore, but I still do.

The pain numbs and I can't feel Hun's beating anymore. Is this what death feels like? I can't hold on anymore. Maybe I should just give up now. I let the darkness take me…

Mikey's POV:

This isn't a dream. There's no point in denying that anymore. I'm walking through a real-life nightmare. There's nothing I can do about it. Staying in that trench for three days helped me realize this. I don't know why I didn't realize it before. There's no hope of escaping. I don't know why I try. I was living in a lie before, but now I know that will not help me anyway. I subconsciously continue my work. It's like I'm on autopilot. I guess that would be cool if I was in a different situation.

"Michelangelo," I hear someone say behind me. I don't turn around. I have work to do. "Look at me right now!" The voice says. I feel someone grab my arm as I reach the bottom of the staircase and force me to turn around. Joe is standing there, but I don't look up at her face. Instead, I look down at her bandaged feet.

"Come on," Joe says, "What happened to yer annoyin' ignorant attitude? I don't know what was more aggravatin', that or this!"

"I have work to do," I say as I weakly try to pull away from her.

"Yer actually actin' more like me now." She says. "Alright, I have an idea. 'Member when ya asked me ta meetcho afta dark? Well why don't I do just that." She had lowered her voice to a whisper now and had leaned in to me so I can hear her better. "Ya better come to. I'm not gonna waste my time on some idiot who wants ta be stubborn." She continues as she grabs the chain attached to my neck and pulls me closer so we are eye-to-eye. "I hope that makes ya snap out of yer pacifist attitude ya have or I'll start gettin' physical."

I don't know what to say to that, so I stay silent. She release me in a huff and stomps off. I watch her as she leaves. I can't believe she was so close to me. I've never been that close to her before. I blink a few times in shock. A guard pushes me forward and I'm forced to get back to work. _Should I go tonight?_ I used to really want this, but now I'm not so sure. I'm afraid if I don't go, I'll lose her, but if I do, I might get caught and sent back to the trench. I didn't even do anything the first time I was sent there. He'll be glad to get me in there again…

Raph's POV:

I'm sick of this place! What am I still doing here? I should have found a way out of here by now! And if not me, one of my brothers would have! I slam my axes at the wall of the mine in a fury. Pieces of crumbled rock hit me in the face each time, but I don't notice it. My rage has blinded me as I continue to mutilate the wall.

"Raphael," I hear Trek say. I ignore him again. He has been trying to calm for the last ten minutes or so, but he hasn't made any progress. I picture the wall as the Shredder as I hit it harder with both of my axes. My temper rises with each blow and I hit it with more ferocity.

"Raphael please," Trek says from beside me, "Calm down, my friend. You going to tear the whole place apart."

"Good!" I yell in anger.

"You can cause a cave-in if you continue like this. You can get us all killed." The voice of reason, but I ignore him once again. I've had enough. I don't care!

Trek seems to guess what I'm thinking as he says, "You should direct your anger at the source of the problem. Don't let them get what they want. Do you want to help them or fight them?"

"You know what I want." I say.

"You need to say it." Trek says. He lays a hand on my shoulder. My anger manages to subside at his touch.

"I want to fight," I say as I hold the axes limply in my hands.

"Then don't subject yourself to falling to their level and don't make their job easier." He says as he takes one of the axes out of my hands. I have to agree with him on that. I sit down against the wall with the remaining ax in my lap. I think I wore myself out.

"I'll do your work for you today. You will rest." Trek says to me. I look up at him and nod.

April's POV:

I feel like the Shredder's personal punching bag now. It's ridiculous! I look out of the window at the ground below. _Maybe I can find a way out of here._ I look around to find no one in the hallway. I head towards the stairs knowing it'll be easier to sneak out there, but also knowing there will be a lot of stairs between here and freedom. As I near it, I check my surroundings nervously. I see no one as my hand closes around the door handle and I press down on it. I pull the door outward and squeeze inside. I try to close the door behind me, but it doesn't move. I turn around to find myself face-to-face with one of the guards.

"Where are ya goin' litta lady?" The guard asks me suspiciously.

"I…um…" I try to think up a lie quickly as I look around nervously, "Was just…ah…finding out where this door leads."

"I'm sure you know perfectly well where this door leads." He says as he roughly grabs my wrist and pulls me back into the hall. "The master would like to speak to you and I'm sure he'll be delighted to know of your little escape plan."

"I'm not going!" I yell as I try to resist him. He jerks me forward effortlessly and I almost fall face-first into the ground.

"Doesn't look like ya have a choice, lady." He sneers, "There's no way you can get away from me so just give up already."

"No," I say and I try my best to prove him wrong, but it's impossible. He leads me down the hall towards a huge set of double doors. I've been through those doors often enough to know where lies beyond them. The guard knocks on the door twice and the Shredder's voice says, "Enter!" The guard opens the door and pulls me inside.

"It's about time she got here," The Shredder says, "I've been waiting."

"I found her tryin' ta escape down the stairs, master," The guard says as he bows.

"Escape?" He stands up from his throne and walks over to me. "You dare try to escape from me? No one escapes from me!" He says with his face inches from my own. I turn away from him and do not reply. "I said," He growls as he roughly grabs my chin and forces me to look at him, "'No one escapes from me' you got that? No one! Not even you, bitch!" He releases his hold on me and scratches me with his gauntlet. I wince, but otherwise stay still.

"Leave me," He says to the guard, who nods and hurriedly leaves. The Shredder then turns to me, sitting on the floor. "Get up!" He orders me, but I do not. My hair has started to come out of the pink bow I'm forced to wear. I stare at him. _Oh how I wish looks could kill right now!_ I watch him as he grabs my arm and forces me to my feet. "You will obey me, servant!" He whispers, harshly, into my ear. He throws me into the wall behind me and I fall to my hands and knees. I'm prepared for the worst…

Leo's POV:

I find the trench extremely uncomfortable. I'm barely able to move within it. I feel trapped as I try to find another position. The rough bricks cut into my skin as I move. It's too cramped. I already don't like it and it's only been a few hours.

I hear footsteps above me as they approach my prison. Hun's voice reaches me saying, "So how does it feel in there? I wouldn't know as I've never been." I ignore him. There's no need for me to respond. "I've had a meeting with one of yer brothers," He continues, "He took the other half of your punishment. You won't be seeing him alive anymore." I clench my fists tightly as I look up at the grate above my head.

"Why would I believe ya?" I call up to him. He laughs as he drops something through the grate, landing on my head.

"There's yer proof." He says, "Do ya need anymore?" I quickly pull it off my head and look at it. I recognize it as Donny's bandana. It's ripped and dripping in my brother's blood. I tighten my fist around it, causing the blood to drip onto the bottom off the trench. Anger and pain cloud my vision as tears fall freely down my face. It's my fault if he's dead and not just because I couldn't stop it, but because I caused it. Hun wouldn't have killed him if I hadn't of lost my temper. I have to find a way to communicate with my brothers. There's no time to waste. If Donny's still alive, Hun came very close to killing him judging from all the blood soaked into his bandana.

The idea comes very slowly. At first, I don't know if it will work, but the doubt soon ebbs away. I know this is the same trench my brothers are thrown into and I know they will have nothing to do, but look at the walls. I smile, sadly to myself as I use Donny's bloody bandana to write my message. I don't use my name, but a symbol I know they will understand. I hope it works. It's our only hope to escape this place sometime. The messages on the wall will keep us together.

When I finish writing it, I read it over. My brothers will be able to know it's me. Now I'll have to wait to see what happens and how long they will keep me here.

**Author's note:** Alright, the cliffhanger was very mean here... I know this alright? It keeps you guys reading though! Please review and we'll see how long it takes me to get the next chapter up! (It shouldn't be too long as I like the next chapter. It was the first three I didn't like... The prolouge was awesome though!) REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!


	6. Chapter 5

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**Author's note:** Now you can see I would NEVER kill my little Donny... (I know i sound crazy there...ignore it...). Here's for all those who wanted this chapter. My sister and my mom are mad at me, but I would rather get this done and face the consequences then be stoned by my readers... So don't hurt me! This chapter has Donny like every other POV. No april this time... She's in the next chapter though (along with a new OC, Annie)! Casey's still in his cell being bored and Splinter doesn't need a POV for you to know what's happening with him... I'm so happy this fic is so popular! Thanks to all!

**Disclaimer:** The turtles & company probably don't want me to own them... No one can steal my OCs and my plot! Grrr! As always, thanks to my friend for plot ideas... Now read already!

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Donny's POV:

I awake to the worst pain I've ever felt in my life. I yell out, my voice filled with the pain I feel. I try to move, only causing my pain to worsen. I feel someone put their hand on my shoulder.

"Don't move, kid." The owner of the hand says, "You'll injure yourself more."

"Where…am I?" I ask, weakly.

"You're safe," He says, "I've brought you to a cave in the mountain the guards don't know 'bout yet."

I reach up to touch my head and I feel numerous bandages. I open my eyes as I realize something's missing. "Where's my…mask?"

"Hun took it before dropping you over the edge of the cliff." He says. Slowly, I realize the voice belongs to Cliff. He looks at me solemnly as he continues. "I was working at a lower level when you fell. If I hadn't caught you, you would be dead now."

"Everything hurts," I manage to say, "Why couldn't…you…just let me die. I'd…be better off."

"Don't say that, kid," Cliff says. "I know you have something to live for. What about yer brothers?"

"My brothers…" I move my arm to my chest as I feel another stab of pain. Breathing hurts and my head is throbbing against my skull. "If…my brothers were…able to…find a way out…they would've…done so already… There's…no hope left…"

"Don't give up, Don. There's still hope." He says, "We can still make it."

"No," I say. I shiver violently as another sharp pain surges through my body. I can tell I'm at the edge of life and death even though I've never been this close before. I just want to fall back into the darkness threatening to take me away so I won't feel the pain anymore. "Let me fade away… Take…the pain away… Please…"

"I would if I could, but I'm not going to let you die."

"Why…not?" The pain makes talking almost unbearable.

"Because I let my brother die and I'm not going to let that happen again." He says, "Derek wanted the same thing you did and I listened to him. That almost broke me. He was seventeen when he died. We were twins. It was only six months after we got here. He had stood up for me and was sentenced to execution because of it. That's the worst way to die. They let him die in my arms."

"Why…are ya…telling me this?" I ask him.

"Do ya want yer brothers to go through the same thing I had to?" He asks me.

"No," I admit, "I don't."

"Then try to hold on." He says. I don't respond as I fall back into the darkness.

Mikey's POV:

Night has fallen and I'm lying in my bed trying to decide if I should go or not. Joe wants me to meet her at the cliffs according to the note she had discreetly snuck into my belt for me to find. I really don't want to get caught. Should I go anyway? I've been trying to decide all day now. I think I should go. I want to see her again. _Come on! Why is this so difficult?_ If I go, I could get caught and maybe this time they'll kill me! But I have to go see her! The hot chick in disguise… My brain hurts with all this thinking!

Alright, I'm going! I hop of my bed. My chains rattle briefly before I can silence them. I quickly look around and breathe a sigh of relief. No one heard that… I walk towards the door and place my hand on the handle.

"Where are you going, kid?" I hear someone say behind me. I turn and see Chief sitting up in his bed, looking at me.

"I…um…was thinking of going on a midnight stroll." I lie. He stares at me and I have a feeling he knows I'm lying.

"Not tonight. Do you want to get killed?" He asks me. I shake my head. "I thought not. There's a guard standing right outside that door."

"Oh," I say.

"You're not allowed out there at night." He says. I decide if I'm going to go out, I'll have to tell this old guy the truth…or at least part of it.

"I really have to go out, Chief. It might help me sleep!" I say. It's not like I can sleep without thinking about losing Joe with each second that passes. "Is there a way to get out without being seen?"

Chief stares at me for a full minute before replying. "Who wants to meet you out there?" He asks. I instantly look away from his uncomfortably stare. "Judging from that look, she's a girl."

"How did you know?" I ask, confused. He thinks for a minute before he speaks again.

"I'm going with you." He says.

"Huh?! Why?!" I ask. I watch as he stands to his feet and walks over to him.

"Well I know I won't be able to dissuade you from going, so I'm coming along to make sure you stay out of trouble." He says, "You can't actually leave the mountain, but there are ways to get from one side to the other without getting caught. I found all this out when I was first brought here."

"Really?" I ask, surprised.

"Yep," He says as he lays a hand on my shoulder. "So where does Jona want you to meet her?"

"How did you know it was her?"

"She's the only gal who works outside of the Empire Building so you have to be referring to her." He says, "So where to?"

"The cliffs."

"Ah, I know just the way," He says, "Follow me, kid." He leads me to the other side of the room and lifts a loose plank from the floor. "I dug this tunnel a long time ago." He explains before I can ask, "From now on, we do not speak until I give the word. Not a sound, got it?"

"Got it!" I say as I watch him jump down into the tunnel. I jump down after him, holding my chains to keep them from making any noise. I find myself surrounded by tunnels going off in many different directions. Chief notices my surprise and smiles as he signals for me to follow him. I follow him through one of the tunnels in front of me. The winding path seems to take forever until he finally stops in front of me. He climbs up a ladder and opens the trapdoor above his head. He helps me up and I look around at what I expect to be a cave. Cliff leads me through it and I spot Joe waiting in the shadows.

"'Bout time ya got here," She says as soon as she notices me. She turns to my companion and smiles. "Well, it's nice to see ya, Crayne!"

"I've told you countless times not to call me that, Jone." Chief says.

"And I have told you to call me Joe, but ya don't listen ta me either. What if I call ya gramps instead?" She says.

"Gramps?" I ask. "You're related?"

"Yes," They both say, then Chief says, "That's even worse, Jona."

"Hmph!" She says, "Well, ya comin' Mike?"

"Right behind ya!" I say as I follow her farther into the cave. Chief follows close behind us. At the end of the tunnel-like cave, I see a large room.

"I usually come here to unleash my fury for this place by beating down that sand bag over there." She says as she points to the corner of the room. "But there's other stuff we can do here."

"How 'bout I show ya some of my moves?" I say with a cheesy smile.

"What moves?" She laughs.

"I'll show ya!" I say as I get into my fighting stance. She smirks at me and then charges towards me. I only just manage to block her attack.

"You were lucky that time," She says.

"Whatever you say…" I say. I charge at me, but she blocks my attack. I flip over her and push her forward. She falls, but quickly gets back to her feet. We circle each other for a few seconds before she strikes out, knocking me to the ground. She moves to strike while I'm on the ground, but I use my legs to propel her over me and get back to my feet. Joe looks at me in anger.

"Jone," Chief says from the sidelines, "Calm yourself." Joe ignores him and charges at me. I dodge her attack and trip her so she falls to the ground. She grabs my foot and brings me down with her. She rolls on top of me and holds me against the floor. She's so close, I can see the ferocity behind her brown eyes. I blink as my breath catches and my heart beats faster. I want to kiss her so badly, but I resist the impulse. She'll hit me if I do something that stupid.

She quickly gets off me and holds her hand out for me with a smug smile on her face. I take her hand and she pulls me to my feet. I didn't even notice I missed the perfect opportunity to get back at her.

"Yer actually quite good," She says, "But I still won."

"Not for long!" I say as I force her to the ground this time.

"Oh, you did not just do that!" Joe says, "You'll pay fer that!"

Donny's POV:

The next time I wake up, the pain isn't so intense. Everything still hurts, but it's not so bad that I can't think clearly like before. I sit up and look around the cave. Cliff isn't there which doesn't entirely surprise me. I look down at my multiple injures and bruises. There are bandages around my chest and my hand. I already knew of the ones around my head. I try to stand, using my uninjured hand to support me and I wince at the stab of pain I feel with the movement. I lean back against the wall as I look around. _Where's the exit to this cave?_ I walk towards what I suspect to be the exit using the wall for support. After going for only a few feet, I forced to stop for breath. I already lost the strength to move on. I slid down the wall, slowly, until I'm sitting against the wall.

"What do ya think yer doin' kid?" I hear Cliff sigh above me. He lifts me up easily and carries me back the way I've come. He sets me back down as he says, "Stay in here until yer up ta workin' again or you'll end up injuring yerself more."

"How long have I been in here?" I ask him.

"It's morning of the next day." He says, "You've been in here for almost twenty-four hours."

"A whole day?" I ask, surprised. "What about the guards?"

"They all think yer dead," He says, "I'm coverin' fer ya fer now."

"I guess I should thank you," I say slowly, "Ya didn't have to do all this."

"Don't mention it," Cliff says, "It was nu'in'."

Leo's POV (Let's say about… six days later? In case it gets confusing with my time skip…):

They left me in here for a whole week. I'm thirsty and hungry. The guards finally come to lift me out of the trench. I'm too weak to move when they set me down. "Here," One of the guards say as he hands me a canister of water. I drink the whole thing hurriedly. Afterwards, they carry me towards the Empire Building and throw me to the ground. I watch as Caden runs up to me as the guards leave.

"Are ya alright, turtle-dude?" Caden asks me as he holds out his hand and helps me up. I nod at his question, unable to voice a response. "What's that?" Caden asks as he points to my belt. I reach for what he is indicating and untie from around my belt.

"It's my brother's mask," I reply. My voice sounds rough and I instantly start couching.

"It's all bloody…" Caden says slowly. He looks at me as I tie it back onto my belt. I look up towards Master Splinter as we get closer to the building. I know he overheard our conversation by the way he's looking at me. I turn away, slowly. I hope Don's still alive. _Please still be alive!_

Donny's POV:

Cliff has finally let me leave the cave. I feel a whole lot better now. Of course, I have to work again, but it's better then being cooped up in a cave all day and night. I guess I owe my life to Cliff. I should be dead, but I'm not. I survived Hun's brutal, unprovoked, un-honorable, unfair beating and he will pay the next time I see him! He removed my mask and I still don't know where that is. If one of my bros find it, they might think I'm dead! I have to find a way to tell them I'm still alive.

As I work, my eyes land on Hun walking away from me. He's back is turned from me and if Leo saw what I was going to do, he'd give me one shell of a lecture, but rage fills me as I watch him. I reach down, wrap my hand around a reasonably sized rock, and whip it at the back of Hun's head. He turns around in anger and spots me.

"You!" He yells. He begins to walk towards me as I pick up another rock. "Yer supposed ta be dead!"

"Well I'm not!" I say with my teeth clenched and chuck the next rock. It bounces of his bulky chest and he narrows his eyes at me. I ignore this as I reach for another rock.

"Guards!" Hun yells, "Grab him!" Two guards rush toward me and hold my arm back as I try to throw the third rock at Hun. They force me to drop the rock and hold my arms at my side. "Since you survived, I'm going to let you stay in the trench for a few days," Hun continues, "Yer the last of 'em to get in there."

"You still haven't told me who busted your lip a week ago." I say with a small smirk.

"Ya don't hafta worry 'bout him. He was punished fer that severely." He says, "I made sure he thinks yer dead. Now take him away!" He orders. The guards drag me away as I continue to glare at Hun.

Raph's POV:

I am leaving the mines to go back to the bunk-rooms when I spot Hun. He seems to be waiting for me. I try to ignore him as Trek and I walk past, but he walks in our path, forcing us to stop. "I thought I'd pay ya a visit since yer the only one I haven't yet." He says to me.

"So how are me bros doin'?" I ask him. I really don't want to deal with him right now, but it's still good to get some information. Of course I know he will lie, but I really don't care right now. I just want to go to sleep.

"Why would I tell ya that?" He asks me.

"Good, then they're alright…" I say as I try not to yawn.

"I didn't say they were," He says as he sneers at me.

"Yes ya did," I say as I smile slightly, "Ya wouldn't tell me, so ya can't say nu'in' bad 'bout 'em. Dey mus' be alrigh'."

"You are very irritating." He says as he knocks me to the ground.

"Thanks fer da compliment." I say, sarcastically, as I quickly get back to my feet. "Can't we do dis anotha time?" I ask as I avoid his next attack. I glance at Trek and he nods. As Hun prepares to attack again, we both punch him at the same time. He falls to the ground and we began to walk away. Normally I would gladly stay and fight, but I really was exhausted.

Before I get to far away, I feel Hun punch me from behind and I fall to the ground again. _Okay, if he wants to fight this badly, how can I refuse? I'll just knock him around for a bit…_ I quickly get back to my feet and face Hun. _I hope he's ready for the fight of his life!_ Trek lays a hand on my shoulder and shakes his head. I ignore him and advance towards Hun.

"Raphael!" Trek says in annoyance. Again, I just ignore him as my fist makes contact with Hun's face. He backs up a bit, staggered, and then sneers as he lifts a large boulder and throws it at me. I barely dodge out of the way. Trek walks up next to me then. "If you are going to fight, I might as well assist you." He says. I smile as he lifts the boulder with his tail and with amazing speed and accuracy straight at Hun. He only barely manages to avoid with more then a scratch. He bares his clenched teeth and rushes at us. Trek and I go in separate directions and manage to trip him as he rushes by. Trek lifts him by his neck as I use my elbow pads to tie his wrists and ankles together.

"There, now I can get some sleep," I saw with my arms crossed.

"Maybe someone will untie you later," Trek says, laughing. He throws Hun away from us and we both smile as we head back to the bunk-rooms.

**Author's note:** I leave you on somewhat of a happy scene. GO RAPH AND TREKKIE! Please review so more can come!

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	7. Chapter 6

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**Author's note:** Here's the next chapter comin' atcha with a double dose of Mikey! This includes two dramatic moment with two of your favorite turtles and a new character I've been waiting for you to meet! Her name's Annie and she's the shy/hyperactive type! The messages on the wall get a new writer as well! Now that's Donny and Leo who've added their messages. I can't wait to show you who writes a message next! Now to stop my 'annoucer speak' and let you get going on reading my awesome fic!

**Disclaimer:** As you all know, the turtles and company do not belong to me yet... OCs and plot are mine... Friend gets credit for her help... Alright, now you can read!

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Mikey's POV:

I have to admit, Joe's a good fighter. Sometimes she reminds me of Raph the way she fights. There are times I can beat her, but she beats me more often. It's getting easier to ignore the urge to kiss her now as well. There's no time for silly stuff like that. I have to be serious. I haven't made a joke in a week! I guess Raph would be happy. Chief still doesn't trust me to find the way by myself. It's kind of annoying how he won't leave me alone. Every night he insists on going with me. I can't shake him no matter how hard I try.

"I won again!" Joe exclaims as she pins me to the ground.

"Not this time!" I say as I kick her off of me and pin her to the ground before she's able to get back up. She struggles under me for a minute then goes limp.

"Alright!" She says, "You won. This time." I smile and roll off of her, breathing hard.

"Both of you are bettering each other." Chief says as he walks over to us.

"I call fer a rematch!" Joe says. I look at her as she stands to her feet.

"Ya can't beat me!" I say back as I roll onto my side and lift myself up. "I'm on a roll tonight!"

"Well let me squash that thought right now!" She says, getting into a fighting stance. "Unless yer tired?"

"Never!" I say, quickly getting into my fighting stance. "I will not be defeated!"

"Before you kids start going at it again, I have to say something," Chief says, "Jone, it's good to see you've got some control over your rage and Michelangelo, you've been trained well, but try not to get too distracted." He looks at me knowingly and I turn away, blushing slightly.

"Is that all?" Joe asks, impatiently.

"Yes, that's all," He says, "Continue." She smiles as she charges towards me. I duck and trip her. She falls and I try to pin her to the ground, but she manages to slip out from under me and forces me down to the ground. I turn onto my shell and kick her off of me. I try to get to my feet, but she manages to send me to the ground again. I quickly pull her down with me and try to pin her again, but she manages to turn me around and pull my arm, harshly behind my shell. I'm in a position now that if I try to get out of her hold, she'll end up dislocating my shoulder. I sigh in annoyance.

"You won," I say grumpily.

"Thanks fer admittin' it." She says as she releases my arm.

"Next time, I'll win," I say, yawning. "But I think I'm done for tonight."

"Yeah, me too." Joe says as she yawns as well. I wave goodbye and follow Chief through the trapdoor.

Leo's POV:

I've decided to train at night. My energy still hasn't fully returned, but I can't waste a minute of my time. I manage to sneak out of the bunk-room with no trouble. The guard outside didn't even see me. I run through the night, away from the heavily guarded Empire Building using the many shadows for cover. I hear someone behind me as I stop beside a building. I turn, startled and see Caden following me. "What are you doing here?" I ask in a low whisper.

"I was wond-" He began, but I quickly cover his mouth at the sound of footsteps. When the sound indicates the owner is out or hearing range, I release Caden and turn him around to face me.

"You shouldn't be out here," I whisper, "You can get caught!"

"You can too, Leo," Caden says, seriously, "Besides, if I go back now, the chances I'll get caught will double." I have to admit, he is right. I roll my eyes in irritation, grab his hand, and lead him away from the building. When I get far enough away, I stop. I'm near the cliffs and there are no guards in sight. Caden manages to escape my hold on him and walk in front of me.

"So why are we here?" He asks me. I can't believe this kid's willing to get himself caught just to see what I'm up to. I look at him in slight annoyance.

"You are just going to stay there and watch." I say, "I want complete silence while I'm training."

"Train fer what?" Caden asks.

"I need to be ready when we fight our way out of here." I say.

"We?"

"My brothers and I." I say, firmly.

"Awe, come on! I wanna help!" He begs me.

"No. Absolutely not, Caden," I say, "You are not gonna do anything but wait 'til the fight's over. Absolutely nothing, you hear me? I don't wantcha to get hurt. Not because of me."

"Please! I can fight! I'll show you!" He says as he attempts to punch me, but I grab his fist before it reaches me. He then tries to kick me, but I grab his foot too. He loses his balance and falls backward. "That's not fair!" He says from the ground. I smile down at him as I offer my hand to help him up. He ignores it and gets up himself. He dusts himself off, grumpily, as he glares at me. "How ja block my attacks anyway?" He asks.

"You were too obvious. You need to learn to be more stealthy." I say.

"Can ya teach me?" He asks so innocently, I almost miss the real reason for his question.

"You are not fighting when we take this place down." I say and I hear Caden groan, "But I will train you."

"Alright!" He says as he punches his fist in the air. I can't help but smile at his enthusiasm.

Donny's POV:

As I wait in the stupid trench, I notice some writing on the wall. It reads:

You'll be here soon. I know you will. I'm alright.

Just keep strong, my brothers. This will all be over

soon. Don't let them break you. Remember who

you are. We can do this together. We can not be

separated. This will keep us together.

It was signed with an 'X' shape. I notice it was written in blood. It shocks me when I realize this. It doesn't take me too long to recognize Leo's handwriting. I lay my hand on the words. The blood had to be at least a week old. That thought gives me the weird feeling it's my blood. Hun probably gave him my bloody bandana. That would mean Leo was the one to punch Hun. Wow… I never thought he would do something like that… I'll have to make sure Leo knows I'm alive.

I look around me to try to find something I can write with. I find a piece of the stone that had crumbled away from the wall. I pick it up and smile as I realize it'll write like chalk. I quickly write a message back to Leo. When I'm finished, I look back at Leo's signature. There must be a good reason why he didn't sign with his name. The 'X' could resemble crossed katanas and I smile at how ingenious it is. I sign my message with a '/' that could represent my bo staff. With that done, I just have to wait until the guards decide my 'punishment' is over.

April's POV:

My head hurts from the Shredder almost ripping my hair out of my head. I walk down the hall, rubbing my aching scalp, and notice a young teenage girl looking down at her feet as she walks in my direction. She looks so forlorn and lost. I walk over to her. "Hey," I say softly, as I put my hand on her shoulder. She looks up at me, startled. "It's alright," I say, "I'm April. What's your name?"

"Annie," She says, shyly. She nervously plays with her hair and looks back down at her feet.

"Where's your room?" I ask as I put my arm around her. She points down the hall to a door at the far end. I walk with her to her room and open the door for her. She walks inside and I close the door behind us. "Let's sit on the bed, okay?"

"Mmhmm," She mumbles, nodding, and sits next to me on the bed.

"Is this your first day here?" I ask. She nods. "I'll help you, okay? We girls have to stick together." She nods again.

"Will I ever get to go back home?" She asks me.

"I don't know, Annie," I say, sadly, "But I'll try to help ya." She smiles, sadly, at me.

Raph's POV:

Trek and I started work the next day or at least we were going to. As we enter the mines, at least ten guards surround us. I guess we are going to pay for what we did to Hun last night. It doesn't bother me. This time I welcome the fight. They close in on us as Trek and I stand back-to-back. "Are you ready for this?" Trek asks me.

"Always am!" I reply. I kick the guard in front of me and send him to the ground. Every now and then, I look back at Trek as he throws a guard out of his way with his tail. I smile at this as I kick another guard who thought he could sneak up on me. I hold my chains and wrap them around a guard in front of me. I throw him into one of his buddies. As I punch another one, a guard from behind me manages to throw me into the wall behind me. I slid down the ground and glare at the perp. "Yer gonna pay fer dat!" I yell as I charge at him and throw him into the wall behind him. I smile, but it lasts for about a minute before I hear an ominous cracking above me. "I'm startin' ta get da feelin' dat was not a good idea…" I say as I look towards the now cracking ceiling.

"We have to get out of here!" Trek says. He looks toward the entrance as more guards block it, grabs my hand, and pulls me deeper into the tunnel.

"Isn't dis a bad idea?" I ask.

"There isn't any better ones." He says. A large chunk of the ceiling lands behind us and knocks us off our feet. I quickly get back up, but Trek doesn't follow. I turn to see the boulder had landed on Trek's legs. I don't have time to help him as I'm forced off my feet again. When the silence returns I quickly get back to my feet and look around. The entrance is completely blocked by the fallen rocks. I turn to trek to try to lift the rock off of him, but it's too heavy.

"Forget about me, my friend," Trek says, "Just try to find a way out of here."

"I'm helping you first." I say as I look around for something that can help me. I spot an ax left behind from one of the workers. I stick the handle under the rock and use it as a level. At first, the rock doesn't move, but soon I start making some progress. I'm not able to get it entirely off my friend's legs, but it's enough for Trek to slid out from under it himself. I drop the rock as soon as he's clear and bend down next to him. "Are ya alright?" I ask.

"I think I am incapable of walking for now," He says, "But I will be fine. Go worry about trying to find a way out of here now."

Mikey's POV:

I'm sick of working in this place, but if I stop they might kill me! I'm already exhausted and it's only the afternoon. It might have something to do with how little sleep I had last night. I just couldn't sleep at all! I don't why. I walk up the stairs to the top and throw what I'm holding into the fire pit below. I watch it as it slowly sinks below the surface. I'm so tired, I yawn. I don't really know what happened next. It went by way too quickly. One minute I'm looking down at the fiery pit, and the next, I'm dangling over the edge by just my fingertips. I close my eyes tightly as I feel myself slip a few inches before I let go entirely. My freefall lasts only a matter of seconds before I feel someone grab my hand. I look up into Joe's eyes as she helps me back over the edge. I collapse onto the solid ground, breathing heavily, as I try to slow my rapid heartbeat.

"I toldja ta be careful, dung-fer-brains." Joe says from somewhere above me. "Come on, ya still hafta get back ta work." She grabs my hand and pulls me to my feet. I turn towards her and I'm surprised to see sympathy in her eyes, but the next second it's gone and I could've imagined it. "Try ta be more careful," She says, "And get back ta work." I take a deep, calming breath and nod. I have no time to be scared over something so unimportant. _Wait! What's happening to me? I'm not scared! I haven't told a joke or prank-ed anyone in a while! I don't even care about movies, videogames, or food anymore! My bros better hurry with the plans before I turn into a zombie! Ah, finally something that could be funny… Now to get back to work… There's no time for any funny business…_

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**Author's note:** Alright, Mikey and Raph have some major problem on their hands right now. Raph more so as he is not trapped in a cave-in! Mikey's problems are more emotional right now. The last part was so you can see what's going on in Mike's head right now! Please review! You've made my updating speed faster! Keep it up or I'll slow down again... Hey, tell me your fav turtle in the review, alright??


	8. Chapter 7

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**Author's note:** Here's the next chapter. I had to stop myself from writing more or this chapter would be too long! This chapter has two of each POV except April who only has one. The cave-in in the mines also causes an avalanche! This does make sense right? Well Donny gets to meet Annie in this chapter. Read!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the turtles & company but I do own my OCs and the plot. Thanks to my friend for the help... Now go ahead and read!

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Donny's POV:

Now that I'm out of the trench, I'm forced to get back to work. Leo's message calmed me down a little, but I'm still angry at Hun. He almost killed me and he would have if Cliff hadn't saved me. As I work, I hear a shy little voice talking to one of the guards. I turn to see a young teenage girl. She's wearing a pink kimono and her hair's tied back in a bow to keep it out of her face. She hands a piece of paper to the guard and he quickly reads it. The girl backs away, afraid to get hurt. As I watch her, I hear an ominous noise above me. I look up to see the beginnings of an avalanche. I look back at the girl as everyone around me start franticly searching for a safe place to stay. She's just staring at the avalanche unmoving. I run towards her and pull her close to the wall of the mountain, covering her as the rocks start raining down above us. I feel the girl shiver under me in fear.

When the silence returns, I get to my feet and look around at the destruction around me. Most of the people didn't make it. Tangled bodies littered the ground among the rocks and boulders. Others were lucky and were still moving. Some even managed to get back to their feet. I turn back to the girl and notice she's still shivering in fear with her eyes tightly shut. "You're safe now," I say as I hold my hand out to her. She opens her eyes and looks at me fearfully. "I'm not gonna hurt you." I say. She takes my hand and I help her to her feet.

"Thanks," She says, softly.

"I'm Donatello," I say, "What's your name?"

"Annie," She says, "I have to back now. I'm already going to be late."

"Where do you work?" I ask.

"The Empire building." She says, "All women and girls work there as I'm told. I really must be going!" She runs off as I analyze what she had just revealed to me. _All women and girls work there…_ Does that mean April does as well?

Leo's POV:

The news of an avalanche and a cave-in in the mines reach me as I overhear a conversation between some workers. I also hear that some workers are actually trapped in the mines. This worries me as I still don't know where my brothers are. They could have been in one of those disasters. I hope they find my message on the wall of the trench. I know we can find a way out of this mess if we can communicate. It'll just take time. I just don't know how much of it we have left!

April's POV

I found out a lot about Annie before she had to leave. She's only fifteen, but I've heard about others who had been brought here at an even younger age. She told me she had been walking home from school when she first noticed the flames and smoke. She had run to find out what was happening and found her own house had been the one on fire. Fire trucks were already there struggling to put out the flames. She told me she didn't see any sign of her family. "They could have been there," She had said, "I just wasn't close enough to tell." She explained that the Foot had attacked her then and pulled her into the back of a truck. She still didn't know if her parents were alive or not. Hearing her tell her story and watching as her tears fell freely down her face convinced me to protect her as best I can. She has already lost so much. I leaned back against the wall of the hallway as these thoughts went through my head. I look up as the elevator doors opened and a very shaken Annie steps out and walks over to me.

"What happened?" I ask her.

"An avalanche in the mountains," She says.

"Are you alright now?" I ask.

"Barely," She says, "If he hadn't saved me, I would be dead now."

"Who?"

"Donatello?" She says as she thinks for a moment. My eyes widen slightly and she notices, "You know him?"

"Yeah," I say, "He was a turtle, right?"

"Yep," She says, "He seems really nice."

"So he's alright?" I ask out loud. "That's good… Did you see any other turtles like him while you were out?"

"Nope, sorry, just the one."

"Next time you see Don," I say, "Tell him you know me and that I'm alright. He needs to hurry though wroth finding a way out of here."

"Sure!" She says, smiling.

Mikey's POV:

After work was finished for the day, I leave the building to find myself face-to-face with a few guards. I quickly step back from them. "Fer yer clumsiness the other day, the boss has decided you deserve to be thrown in the trench again." One of them says.

"Why do I have to go back in there?" I whine. "I'll try to be more careful next time!" They ignore me as one of them manages to grab my chains and pull me forwards. I wish Joe was here. She was allowed to leave early though! I try to struggle as they drag me away.

"We would have brought ya to the trench right after, but we were plannin' on someone else gettin' thrown in. Too bad he ain't able ta take his punishment right now. Fer now ya get yers."

"This isn't fair!" I say as I am forced to let them take me. Fear keeps me from resisting them. _Another date with Henry the Skeleton…_

Raph's POV:

I continue to try to move the boulders blocking the only exit. I haven't made any progress yet and I'm starting to get tired. "Raphael," Trek says from behind me where he's lying on the ground. "You need your rest. You'll wear yourself out if you continue like this."

"We have to get out!" I say, "We can't stay here!"

"One night here will not make that much of a difference. Wait until morning when your energy will be back in full." I can't deny his logic, but I am not giving up. I pick up the ax and slam it into the barrier. Nothing. I hold back a yawn before I strike it again. Still nothing. The lack of progress increases my anger and I strike it harder.

"Raphael! You can make it worse if you don't be careful!"

"I am being careful!" I yell just as the small hole I finally managed to create collapses on my hand. "OW!" I yell out as I quickly move the rocks off. "Alright, I give up!" I step away from the wall of rocks and turn towards Trek. "Stupid rocks!" I grumble as I sit down beside Trek, rubbing my now injured hand. Trek gives me this look and I glare at him. "Stop it!" I say, "You were right, okay!" He smiles and I roll my eyes.

Mikey's POV:

It takes me two days to find the two messages on the wall: one written in blood, the other in chalk. I read the first one and smile. It had to have been from Leo. The second read:

Don't worry about me. I'm fine. For how long,

I'm not sure. We have to hurry if we want to get

out of here in one piece. I'll do whatever I can to

help. We'll do this together.

This one's harder, but I figure out it must be Donny. Raph is the only one now I'm not sure if he's alright or not. I pick up something I can use as chalk and write my own message, telling my bros I'm alright. I use a 't' for my signature.

Donny's POV:

I see Annie again two days later. She walks directly towards me with no fear. "Donatello?" She asks, "April says hi!"

"April?" I ask.

"Yep, she told me to tell you she's alright." She says, cheerily, "She also said to hurry and find a way out of this place."

"I'm trying," I say after I check to see if anyone could be listening. "Tell her we're working on it."

"That's good," She says, "April said she'll help me get out too when it's time. I'll be able to see my family again."

"I'll make sure of it." I say. She leaves soon after, leaving me to my work. Cliff walks up to me then and helps move a particularly heavy boulder.

"Who's da girl?" He asks me.

"She works at the Empire Building with a friend of mine," I answer, "She's my only contact with her. If we weren't separated like this, we'd probably be out of this mess already."

"Don't worry kid," Cliff says, "So far, for all we know, everyone's fine."

"Yeah," I say, "I hope you're right about that. Cliff?"

"Yeah?"

"How did you manage to cope after your brother's death?"

"I didn't really. I still don't for that matter. Derek and I were close." He stops working and looks up at the sky in thought. "I remember how he used to shut himself in his room to study sometimes. He wanted to be a doctor. He would've been a good one to." He looks at me before he continues, "I'll never forget 'im. I just know I have to move on with my life. It was hard at first, but it's easier now."

"I don't know-" I begin before I feel something hit the back of my head. I turn, rubbing the point of impact, to see Hun sneering at me. I clench my fists as I glare at him.

"Now you know how it feels to get hit with a rock." Hun says.

"You deserved it!" I say, "You threw me off a cliff!"

"I had the right to do that," Hun says as he walks toward me. "You did not."

"I can do whatever I want! You can't stop me!"

"I guess you still haven't learned yer lesson." He stops a few feet in front of me. "I'm sure that cave-in taught yer brother a lesson."

"Who?"

"I wonder if he'll ever manage to get out. He's been in there for a few days now." He continues, ignoring me, "He'll probably be dead by now."

"Who?!" I repeat, louder this time.

"I would've enjoyed killing him personally, but dieing in a cave-in is good enough. I wish I could've watched him die, but sometimes you just gotta let nature do its work."

"Answer me!" I yell as I start towards him. Cliff grabs my arm and holds me back. I try to shove him off, but he holds firm.

"I will never tell you." Hun says, "I'd rather let you wonder."

"I will kill you right now if you don't tell me!"

"Go ahead and try." He says, "There's not much you can do about it." Again I try to free myself from Cliff's grasp. I finally manage to, but I never manage to punch him. Before my fist makes contact, I feel electricity surge through me. I fall to my hands and knees and try to hold back my scream.

"Next time you try that, you will be sent to the trench." Hun says as he stops the current and lifts me by my chains. "Consider yourself lucky." He smiles before he tosses me away from him. I slowly get to my feet and watch him leave. My hatred of him increases. He will pay for that!

Leo's POV:

There are times I enjoy training Caden and times I don't. This is one of the times I don't. He keeps asking me what I will teach him next. Sometimes when a guard is in earshot. "Caden, please!" I whisper in irritation, "We'll talk about this later!"

"But I wanna know, Leo!" He says, impatiently. I groan as I study him. He looks back at me, pleadingly, "Is it gonna be sum'thin' new? Maybe some cool new fightin' move where one hit can knock out the biggest dude. That would be awesomely-super-cool dude! I can't wait!"

"Please keep it down," I say, warily as I look around the area for any possible eavesdroppers. Thankfully, a new worker was keeping most of the guards in the area preoccupied. I turn back to Caden and say, "If the guards hear us talkin' about this they will kill us both."

"Not when I'm finished trainin'!" He says, "I wanna be a master like you!"

"I'm not a master," I say as I rub the back of my neck, "I'm just teaching you what I know."

"Don't be modest, dude. Don't deny what ya are! You've trained hard ta get where ya are." He says. He may be right, but if I had trained harder, My bros and I would not be slaves to the Shredder.

Raph's POV:

I finally seem to be getting somewhere. The hole I have been working on for two days is big enough for us to squeeze through. I don't know what was worse: the trench or here. I think the trench's worse… I help Trek through the small opening first and then I follow him through. The hole collapses behind me, but it only ticks me off a little. I'm finally out of that stupid cave. Trek limps away from the wall of boulders, "I have a feeling our euphoria will be short-lived." He says as he looks toward the exit of mines.

"Most likely," I agree, "But I ain't plannin' on makin' it easy fer 'em." I walk over to Trek to help him and we walk towards the exit together. A whole bunch of guards are waiting for us. Before I'm able to get into a fighting stance, I feel electricity surge through me. I clench my fists, refusing to scream out. Almost immediately after it stops, the guards grab me and Trek. I struggle against them, but it's no use.

"Why don'tcho low-lifes find sum'thin' better ta do!" I yell.

"This is not a fair fight." Trek says, "Do you have no honor?" _Sometimes he reminds me of Leo…_ The guards ignore us as usual. _That really annoys me! When I get out of here, I-_

"Take the alien to one of the other trenches," I hear Hun say. I look up at him as he walks toward me. The guards begin to half-carry, half-drag Trek away at his order. I barely notice as I glare at Hun.

"What made ya decide ta show ya ugly face 'round here again?" I ask him.

"The thought of you paying fer what you've done." He responds. I look at him coldly as he does the same. "Take him away." He orders the guards. I can't fight them off as they carry me away.

**Author's note:** Please review! Next chapter will be out tomorrow with the rate I'm going! This time my question is: Who's your favorite OC in this fic? I think mine is Caden! He's just so awesome ya know? But Trek is awesome as well! If you hadn't already answered the question before this, please do! I want to know who your preference is!

Score: Mikey-2, Donny-2(unless you count my vote! :D), Raph-1, Leo-0!


	9. Chapter 8

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**Author's note:** The chapter is short because I couldn't add on the next POV as it really fast forwards the fic and I thought it would fit better with the next chapter. The story zips forwards about a month later in the next chapter. (Yeah! I'm halway through my first notebook!) For those who want to know. Mikey's signature 't' stands for Turtle Titian!

**Disclaimer**: Do not own turtles & company. Do own OCs and plot.

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Mikey's POV:

As I start working again, Joe walks up to me. "So, how's it goin' Mike?"

"Fine actually!" I say, almost cheerfully.

"What's wit' da attitude adjustment?" Joe asks as she looks at me strangely.

"Ah, nothing," I say, "Just finding out at least two of my bros are alright."

"How is this?" Joe asks.

"They have their ways," I say, mysteriously. "Couldja again explain why I hafta work here? I hate it here."

"Jus' come on!" She says, wearily, "Let's jus' get back ta work." I smile slightly. Maybe I can make it seem shorter if I focus on making Joe smile. Or annoyed… Ether way, I should enjoy it!

Raph's POV:

I was right, the trench is worse. I hadn't eaten since before the cave-in so that just makes it even worse. This is the first time I've gone without food for more then two days. I'm surprised it took me so long to notice the messages on the wall my bros had left. It also surprised me that I was the last to see them. The first and last were the easiest to figure out. Mikey's said:

I'm alright. At least, I think I am. Did you guys notice

Henry the Skeleton? I really don't want to end up like

him. I don't care what the plan is, I just want out!

When I read that, I looked around to find out what he was talking about and found 'Henry' in the corner of the trench. I am somewhat surprised I didn't notice him before now. Of course Mikey would and of course he would name it.

"Hey Henry," I say, sarcastically, "Sorry 'bout takin' up all yer space." I look back at the wall and write:

It's about time you found a way to communicate!

You're lucky I'm still alive after that cave-in. I'm

fine for now, but if we're going to do something,

it'll have to be soon before something else happens.

One of us might not be too lucky next time. Any

Ideas, X?

Then I signed it with a symbol that resembles my sai. Knowing Leo, he probably already has some ideas.

Donny's POV:

Cliff and I snuck out last night to train. I know I needed it, so when Cliff offered, I readily accepted. My main goal is to teach Hun a lesson he won't forget. Maybe Leo wouldn't approve, but I'm sick of what he's doing. He is going to pay for what he's done. We're going to train tonight and that's all I can think about. I sometimes notice my actions resemble Raph's right now, but I don't care. It's Hun's fault and I will enjoy killing him. When night finally arrived, I snuck out and found the cave Cliff had hidden me after Hun's attack. The place makes me want to fight more diligently. I walk in to see Cliff's already there. He's working on something with his back turned away from me.

"Cliff?" I ask as I approach him, "Whatcha doing?"

"Don, come ova here," He says, "I have something for ya." I walk over to him as he turns to face me. In his hands is a light grey metal poll about four feet long. He hands it to me.

"Where'd you get this?" I ask.

"I know someone who works at the factory who smuggled it out for me." He says, "You can use it to fight with when it comes time to take this place down."

"Thanks Cliff," I say as I start twirling it in my hands. It's slightly heavier then my old bo staff was, but I can still handle it. Cliff watches me as I get used to the feel of it.

Leo's POV:

I think Caden's getting better. He's improving in his fighting skills faster then I'd expect from him. It must have something to do with his fierce determination. I can see it in his eyes. Sometimes it makes me worry about his past. _What brought this kid here of all places? Why does the Shredder have him in his clutches?_

"Turtle-dude! Leo! Hey!" Caden's voice breaks through my thoughts and I look up at him. "Were ya even listening to me? I asked ya if that was good or not!"

"Yeah," I say, absently.

"Ya weren't listenin'," He says wearily as his shoulders slump, "Where were ya? Mars?"

"I was thinking," I say, "How'd you get here exactly?"

"Those creepy, sorry-excuse-fer-ninja freaks brought me here o'course." He says.

"I'm talking about before that," I say, "What happened to your family?"

"Oh," He says as he looks down at the ground, "My parents…" He looks back at me and sits down beside me, "They were murdered when I was really young. A few years afta I was born, actually. I don't like talkin' 'bout it much."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I was just wondering."

"Naw, I'll tell ya," He grabs my arm and places it around his shoulders as he leans into me. "The orphanage had picked me up afterwards. They was killed right in front o' me. The ugly dude wit' da big muscles and freaky tattoo said dey owed 'im. I still don't understand it all.

"I was sleepin' at first, but dere screams woke me up. Have ya eva heard yer parents scream fer their lives before? It ain't pleasant. I hid unda my bed, but I still saw ev'rythin'. It was right outside my door. I'd fergo'en ta close it before I want ta bed. They was in da livin' room. My room had a perfect view.

"Afta he killed 'em, he left. Most of it's kinda fuzzy, but I'll neva ferget it. The orphanage people tried their best ta help me, but afta thirteen years, nu'in' changed. Then those sorry-excuse-fer-ninjas made it worse." When he finishes his tale, he tries to stifle a yawn.

"I think training's over for today." I say as I lift him up. He falls asleep in my arms as I carry him back to his bed.

Mikey's POV:

For the third time that night, I find myself pinned to the ground. Joe and I are training and she has won again. This time I've got a plan. I smile mischievously, but hid it before she sees. Like always, she holds her hand out to me to take, but this time it will be different. I grab her hand and pull her down to the ground. She falls on top of me. She lifts her head up to glare at me just before I swing my leg over her and end up on top of her with my hands pinning her down.

"Cheater!" She hisses at me. I only smile.

"No, just resourceful," I say, calmly.

"Ah, ya want ta see what happens ta guys who cheat?" She asks. I have to admit, the look she's giving me is scary. I was right to be scared. She knees me hard below my belt and ends up back on top of me. "That's what happens." She says, smiling.

"That…was harsh," I say, between breaths though my pain.

"Yet exactly what ya deserve." She says as she gets off of me. "If ya do it again, I promise to make it worse."

"Can it get worse?"

"Oh yeah. You ain't seen nu'in' yet, buddy."

I quickly stand up and say, "Ya won. Happy?"

"Immensely," She says, "Ya wanna go again?"

"I think I'll pass," I say, "I wanna save myself from any more damage." She laughs which causes me to smile. She sounds so pretty when she laughs.

We decide to stop for the night and go our separate ways. I can't stop thinking about her. I think she even managed to appear in my dreams that night. I'm glad my bros aren't here right now because they would've teased me about it.

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**Author's note:** Please review! Like you always do! Hehe...that rhymes. Isn't Cliff nice? I can't wait to show you the next chapter... it WILL be long! The chapter afterwards contains Mikey's tragedy for all you Mikey fans out there! :D (-:


	10. Chapter 9

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**Author's note:** This chapter is longer then it was going to be by one POV. Multiple POVs again. The next chapter is when things really start getting bad. I actually completely knocked off the whole second part of Leo's first POV (which only consisted of one paragraph) because I just didn't like it. I know the POVs are mostly all short. It happens like that sometimes. That's why there is more then one of each!

**Disclaimer:** Turtles & company do not belong to me. OCs and plot are mine.

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Leo's POV:

I don't know how many day's it's been since we started writing the messages on the wall of the trench. It doesn't matter to me anymore. It has been too long to count anyway. The plan is slowly forming, but it isn't ready yet. I'm looking over all our past messages. Some are written to encourage us while others are our plans for escape. I can see how much this experience has changed us over time through our writing. We have to do something quickly. I must find a way to find a way to save my family and friends.

Donny's POV:

It's getting late and it's almost time for me to head back to the bunk-rooms. I spot Hun as he bullies a worker who doesn't seem to be capable of working anymore. I still haven't got my full revenge on him yet. My fists clench as I glare at the back of Hun's head. Anger fills me and I can't stop myself from walking forward, not that I want to anyway. I pull my fist back and slam it into the back of Hun's head. He jerks forward and then turns back to me, angrily. I kick him before he can react and he falls to the ground. I knock the remote out of his hands before he can electrocute me and then I punch and kick him continuously. He manages a few punches in return, but I don't feel them. I feel someone grab my arm and try to pull me away, but I manage to pull my arm out of the person's grasp. I don't how long it was, but the person finally manages to pull me back. I fight against the hold on me.

"Don't do this, Don," Cliff's voice says, "Ya got yer revenge. Calm down."

"I want to kill him!" I say with my teeth clenched.

"You will, but not now. Another guard come by any minute now and they might kill you."

"I don't care anymore!"

"If you get killed, how will yer brothers react?"

I stop struggling then and look up at Cliff. "You just had to bring them into this, didn't you?" I ask, sighing, "That was low."

"I know you care about them. If you don't stop this for yourself, stop for them." Cliff says to me.

"Alright," I say, grumpily. Cliff releases me and I look over at Hun. He hasn't moved since Cliff pulled me away from him. I take a calming breath and walk over to him. Cliff moves toward me, but I hold me hand up. "I'm just checking his vitals." I say. Cliff gives me a worried look. I can't blame him. It's hard to resist punching Hun again. I kneel down beside Hun and carefully look him over. He's not dead and I can't resist wishing he was. He is only unconscious. I smile to myself sadistically. _At least I almost managed to kill him._ I stand and walk back over to Cliff.

"Is he dead?" Asks someone behind me. I turn and see the guy Hun had been bullying before. I shake my head at the guy and he says, "At least you brought him down for me. I wasn't sure what he was going to do to me."

April's POV:

I awake abruptly and it takes me awhile to find out why. Annie is shaking me with an amused expression. When she sees I'm awake, she smiles. "April!" She says, excitedly, "You wouldn't believe it, but I just saw that big guy with the girly braid! He was being supported by two other big guys!"

"What do ya mean?" I ask, tiredly. She sits on the edge of my bed and sighs.

"The big guy with the braided blond hair got his butt handed to him." She says.

"Really?" I ask. I sit up and try to wake myself up.

"Yeah! Ya gotta see it!" Annie says, eagerly. She hops off my bed and begins pulling me off of it.

"How come you're all energetic in the morning?" I ask. "It should be a crime!"

"I usually am," She says, "Come on! He's in the room right next to the one at the end of the hall. Maybe we can find out who did that to him!"

"Just let me get dressed first." I say.

&

A half hour later, Annie and I listen at the door to the indicated room. Well actually, she's listening. I'm just standing next to her. "Awe! He's not up yet!" Annie says. "He's still out of it. Whoever did that to him really banged him up!"

"If I had to guess, I'd say one of the guys did it," I say, "Most likely it wasn't Don or Mikey. Maybe Leo, but it's a better chance it was Raph."

"Ya never know," Annie says, "Places like this could change anyone." I look down at her, curiously, before she continues, "I just wanna know who did it so I can congratulate him!"

Mikey's POV:

I can't believe I'm still in this place. It's been way too long! Our so-called plan is only, like, half-planned! It's getting really annoying. I want out of here now. I don't want to do this anymore. I can see Joe watching me and I try to ignore her. It's getting harder to tell when she's glaring at me or seriously worried, but I'm too upset to look. I drop what I'm carrying into the fiery pit below. I hate how it's so hot and stuffy in here. It really reminds me of the movie Life is Beautiful. That one place the father worked at is very similar to this place. I walk down the stairs to get more things when I hear a scream. I'm not all the way at the bottom yet so when I turn, I can see what's happening clearly. A man is falling over the edge and into the fiery pit below. He wasn't able to hold on like I was. He disappears under the liquid-like surface and I watch for him to come up. The guy swims to the surface and I cringe as I see his skin is literally melting off his bones. He struggles and slowly falls under again with only one of his hand above the surface. It's like a scene from the Terminator. I quickly turn away just as the guards push their way through. I grab onto the railing and let them squeeze through. I watch as the guards start to ask questions and drag away anyone who could be involved. It seems carelessness here is punished severely. I move on, hoping to be left unnoticed.

Raph's POV:

I have to think of a way to help my bros with their plan. I want out of here as much as they do and without my help, I don't know what will happen. As I slam my ax into the wall of the mine-shaft, I try to think of a way I can help. There has to be something. I think about our past messages to try to find out what still needs to be down. I remember my bros talking about ways we can get stuff passed from one to the other. It's hard to do that when we are kept separate all the time. I hit the wall again and a crack appears. That's when I get my idea. I stop working and turn towards Trek. "Trek, can ya do me a favor?" I ask. He looks over at me, curiously. "I need ta get in da trench. I have something important ta do."

"Like what?" He asks.

"Just help me out here?" I ask. He sighs and nods. We wait until the hourly guard to come into the mines. When he arrives, Trek and I stage a fight. We start arguing loud enough to draw the guard towards us. Trek pushes me hard to the ground. I quickly stand back up, and prepare to punch him when I feel electricity surge through me. I collapse and the guard begins to drag me away. For the first time, I do not struggle as I let them take me away. I lift my head and smirk.

As soon as I am in the trench, I look for a week spot in the trench. I find one and punch my fist into the wall. At first it doesn't budge, so I try again. Eventually the brick is able to slid out. I use my other hand to dig into the hole to make it wide enough to hide something in, then replace the brick. I write a message to my bros describing it's location.

Donny's POV:

Two days after beating up Hun, the guards approach me while I'm working. They electrocute me and I fall to the ground as they surround me. "Usually the punishment for trying to kill a guard is execution," One of the guards say, "That wasn't just any guard either. We're told to make an exception this time." Three guards lift me between them as the guard says, "The trench is now empty and waiting."

April's POV:

I leave Shredder's domain rubbing the top of my head and see Annie waiting for me. She never seem to leave my side for too long. "I found out who beat up Hun!" She says.

"Who?" I ask as I continue to walk to my room. She follows behind me.

"Donatello," She says. I instantly turn back towards her, shocked as she continues, "He was sentenced to a week's imprisonment in the trench for it."

"This place really does change people," I say, "Don just doesn't seem like the one who would do that."

"Well according to my information, he wanted revenge because Hun almost killed him before I had arrived here." She says, "Did you know that the usual punishment for that is execution. They were actually nice to only send him to the trench."

"Where do you get this information?" I ask.

"I listen and sometimes Donatello tells me himself."

"You are one sneaky girl," I say, smiling, "Just be careful, alright?"

"Of course!" She says, "No one can touch me!"

Leo's POV:

I have learned that Caden can't sit still for a moment. I roll my eyes as I watch him run off on an errand I gave him. My eyes land on Master Splinter. He looks worse today and I have to force myself to not rush over to him. The banner behind him with the Foot insignia on it reminds me this is all the Shredder's doing. I am surprised I haven't seen the Shredder since that first day. I subconsciously place my hand on my right shoulder where the Foot insignia was burned into my skin. I have to find a way to get my friends and family out of here.

I turn back to Caden as I hear him return. He looks at me and smiles. I have a bad feeling he is planning something. It turns out I am right. I watch as Caden walks over to the edge of the platform, sits down, and then leans back so he's hanging upside-down by his legs. "Everything's much more interesting upside-down." He says, "Come and hang upside-down with me, Leo!"

"Caden, you shouldn't be doing that." I say, "You could fall."

"What's life without a little risk?" He asks, "It's no fun if ya stick to the norm, dude. You'd blend in to well and disappear in the folds."

"Ya know, you really confuse me sometimes." I say as I walk over to him. I reach over the edge of the railing and pull him off. He crosses his arms over his chest and gives me an annoyed look. I chuckle at him and ruffle his hair a little. He fixes his bandana and smiles, slightly.

Raph's POV:

It surprises me that they had only left me in the trench for a day. I'm not complaining of course, but I know it's usually two days. The guards either just gave me a lighter punishment or they got me out to put one of my bros in instead. Whatever it is, it doesn't really matter to me. Not now anyway. I lazily twirl the axe in my land in thought. _Why am I actually working for the Shredder again?_ I don't care what he'd do to me if I don't work. It's not like they'll find out that I'm not working anyway as the stupid guards are too scared to stay in here for longer then a few minutes. There's other more important things for me to think about right no. Like getting out of here for one. When I do, I'll make sure I take out as many guards as possible as I leave. I'll enjoy making them pay for this.

Mikey's POV:

I can't get the image of that dude falling in the fiery pit out of my mind. I keep thinking that could've been me. I can't work here. It's too dangerous! What if I end up like that dude? There would be no way I could survive that! I can't test fate too many times. Eventually I'll end up dead. I don't want to end up like Henry the Skeleton!

"Michelangelo!" I hear Joe yell. I look at her and notice the annoyed look on her face. "Are ya even listenin' ta me?"

"What?" I ask. Night has fallen and Joe and I are in that cave again. I can tell Joe is annoyed at my confused look as she sits down next to me.

"What's on yer mind that's keepin' ya from payin' attention?" She asks me. I shrug, not wanting to tell her of my fear. She's too tough to be scared of anything. If I tell her, she'll just laugh at me. I stare off in the distance, not really looking at anything. I feel Joe place her hand on my shoulder and I instantly turn towards her.

"Tell me, Mike," She says. I think I see a concerned expression on her face, but I must be imagining it.

"Nu'in' ta tell," I say, barely moving my life. She continues to look at me and then she seems to give up. She smiles and pushes me to the ground.

"Yer makin' this too easy." She says as she pins me to the ground and looks at me. "Come on!" She says, "Where's yer annoyin' boundless energy?" She sits up, still on top of me, with her arms crossed across her chest. She looks at me and says, "Can ya at least smile?"

"What's there ta smile 'bout?" I ask.

"You're hopeless," She says, "I think we're done for today." She gets off of me and walks away, leaving me as I slowly get to my feet. _Maybe I should've smiled anyway? Well it doesn't matter anymore. She's gone now. It's not like I can go back and fix it and it's not like I have the energy to do so anyway. I might as well just go to bed and hope I don't mess up tomorrow. The way things are going I probably will. It hasn't happened yet so I guess I can try to hope it'll end up alright even though I know it probably won't. I'm always the one to mess things up…_

Donny's POV:

I don't know how they expect me to work after a week in that trench. The water they gave me after they brought me out didn't help. It wasn't enough. I haven't moved since they took me back to the mountain pass.

"You okay, kid?" Cliff asks me as he helps me up. I look at him and he says, "Yeah I know: stupid question…"

"A week…" I say and I instantly start coughing. My voice sounds weak to my ears.

"At least yer still alive." He says.

"Ya call this living?" I ask. I try to stand on my own, but I have to lean against the wall of the mountain in order to stay standing. "I can't wait to get out of here."

"Yer closer ta getting' out then most people are here." Cliff says.

"There's still some things we need to work out," I say, "Cliff? Can you do me a favor?"

"Of course," He says.

**Author's note:** Alright, as you can see, Mikey's really starting to lose it and Donny's becoming more vengeful (What happened to my poor little Donnyness!). Raph and Leo are so far keeping it together (but not for long! Mwahahahaha!)... April's fine. Casey you don't know about, but how long can someone like him stay in a cell with no obvious chance to escape?? Splinter really needs a POV soon... a few more chapters 'til he gets one though. NOOOO! The next chapter will be even longer then this because of Mikey's (notebook-size) three page POVs!They just HAVE to be so in-depth because it's all about Mikey's tragedy... Do I HAVE to write the next chapter?This is going to take SO long to write... I WILL need encouragement if you want me to write it...So PLEASE leave a lot of little reviews!I don't know if I can write all that... AND it will make me all depressed when I DO write it...


	11. Chapter 10

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**Author's note:** Get ready for it! Mikey's tragedy is the second POV in this chapter! Leo and Mikey have two POVs mostly for the reason I wanted to give Don one in this chapter and wouldn't have been able to if I didn't do this. The next chapter will lead up to Raph's tragedy and will document the end of my first notebook! Yay me! Then I will have to start taking out my next notebook! I like this Leo POV. It's so cute and really points out Leo's...well...inhibitions you can say...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the turtles & company. I only own the plot and my OCs! Mwahahaha! (Ah, inside joke there...)

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Leo's POV:

I see Hun walk out of the Empire Building. He's wearing a brown jacket that covers his arm. It looks very odd on him. I watch as he walks towards me and Caden.

"What's wit' da jacket?" Caden asks. I turn to him.

"Caden," I say, "Don't."

"I'd listen ta him ya litta brat 'cause I ain't in da mood right now." Hun says as he cracks his knuckles.

"What's wrong big guy?" Caden asks. I pull him over to me and cover his mouth. He struggles against me before going limp.

"How 'bout you wait for me over there?" I say as I point away from Hun, removing my hand from Caden's mouth.

"But-" Caden begins. I look at him and he says, "Oh alright!" He stomps off and I turn back to Hun.

"So what do you want?" I ask.

"I just want to inform you ya ain't da only one who has been in da trench fer a week." Hun says, sneering at me, "I haven't seen 'im since he went in. I wonder how he handled it…" My face darkens, but I wasn't going to attack him this time. Nobody deserves to be in that trench for a whole week, especially my brothers. He'll pay for it later. Now is not the time for it. "…Being one of da weaker ones and all." He adds.

"None of my brothers are weak," I say. I am not angry- not yet at least- but I am close. I turn away from Hun to calm myself. He pushes me to the ground. I hold my hands out to break my fall and then slowly get back to my feet, still not looking at him.

"Look at me!" Hun says. He grabs my arm and turns me to face him. I look at him and he sneers at my expression. "Are ya findin' it hard ta control yer anger?" Hun asks me. I can't hold back a small smirk at that.

"I can control it," I say, "I'm just not sure you can."

"You-" He throws me down. I see him wince slightly as I hit the ground. I stand up and look at him curiously. He notices my look and says, "I'll deal wit'cho later." And walks away from me.

When he's gone, I slowly walk back to Caden. I can tell he's been impatiently waiting for me. I get back to work wondering why Hun just left like that.

Mikey's POV (get ready for it! This is his tragedy I've been hanging over your heads for a while! Oh! And be prepared for a DEATH! I am all-powerful! Mwahahaha!):

I haven't been able to talk to Joe since last week. I can tell she's annoyed with new attitude. It's not like I can do anything about it. I'm worthless. Something that can and should be thrown away. Especially here. No one can change that. It took me a while to see it, but now I know it won't change anything if I die here.

I look around for Joe. Maybe I can talk to her now. I can't find her anywhere and it's mid-day. She should be working. I hold my chains so they won't make a sound when I sneak out the back door. A guard is standing outside. I move into the shadows and look around for Joe. I finally find her on the roof of the factory. She's lying on her back with her eyes closed. So looks so serene, I don't want to bother her. I can't back away from her hidden beauty. I just watch her. Soon she opens her eyes and looks at me.

"How long have you been there?!" Joe asks me. I shrug as she continues to stare at me.

"I-" I begin, but now I don't know if I can tell her. She'll laugh. I know she will. She stares at me, curiously as I sit down beside her with my head down.

"What's up?" She asks softly. I look at her and half-smile. I just can't help it.

"I don't know if…" I say slowly as I look down again, "Ah…well…I'm sorry about the way I've been acting."

"Are you gonna tell me what's been botherin' you?" She asks.

"I…um…" I rub the back of my neck, nervously. Joe lays her arm around me and I almost forget to breath.

"Ya can tell me, Mikey," Joe says.

"I'm scared," I say, "I've always been one shell of a clumsy immature and lazy turtle. I can't make it here. I can end up dead."

"But ya haven't yet," She says, "Yer still here, right?"

"But for how long?" I look up at Joe, "I'm surprised I made it this long."

"I'm not. You've made this seem sorter fer me. Yer care-free attitude helped me to realize that you can have fun. Ya made me laugh when I didn't know I could. Don't give up hope Mikey. Without ya, I'll be swept up by the anger inside of me. If you can't make it here, then I certainly can't."

"Of course you can make it here," I say, "You're tough. You can handle it."

"I thought I could, but then I met you," She says, "You've changed my whole perceptive. I don't know what I'd do, if I hadn't met you."

I feel my face heat up at that and I turn away, quickly. "You'd be perfectly fine." I say.

"No, I'd probably be dead." She says. I look over at her with my eyes only as she continues, "I couldn't handle doin' sum'thin' against my will. I'd've struck out and ended up dead. I mean I am da only girl workin' outside da Empire Building. They made me work here 'cause I don't like following orders. They want me dead. If they find one reason, they'll kill me in an instant." I can't say anything to that. The silence stretches for what seems like hours to me. I don't know how long it lasts before Joe suggests we go back in. I watch as she climbs down the side of the factory and disappears from view. I climb down after her. When I touch the ground, I turn to see Joe standing behind me. A guard was standing behind her with his hand over her mouth to keep her quiet.

"Trying to avoid workin' taday, lovebirds?" The guard says, "That's sweet, but it's also a crime. Now you must pay for it!" Joe bits down on the guard's hand and he releases her. Then she elbows the guy in the gut and runs over to me.

"Not without a fight, ya idiots!" She says, facing the guards. I look at her back in shock. She doesn't seem to care for what might happen to her at all! She turns to me and says, "I'll handle these guys, alright Mike?" She asks, softly. I don't know what to say so I stay silent as she turns back to the guards. "You get ta safety."

"But what about you?" I ask. The guards had already surrounded us. One of them steps forward and pulls Joe away from me. I rush forward, but a guard pulls me back by my bandana tails.

"Don't hurt 'im!" Joe says as she struggles against her captor. "I'm da one ya want!" She emphasizes this by stepping hard on the dude's foot. Her roughly pushes her forward and she falls to the ground. As she gets back to her feet, one of them electrocutes her. She collapses again and one of them step hard on her back.

"STOP IT!" I yell as I throw the guard off me and run over to Joe. I kick the one holding Joe down and kneel down next to her. "Are you alright?" I ask. She grabs my hand and squeezes it.

"Stay strong, Michelangelo," She says. She smiles and a sick feeling enters the pit of my stomach. I shake my head and close my eyes.

"No," I say. I have a bad feeling about this. I feel Joe put her arm around me to pull me closer. I open my eyes just in time to see Joe plant a kiss right above my lips. I don't move as my eyes widen. One of the guards pulls me away from her then and I don't resist this time. I see another guard lift Joe up by his neck.

"How sweet, lovebirds," The guard says as he slams Joe into the wall, "Too bad I hafta break this up." He throws Joe away from him. I don't know what to do as I'm forced to watch them beat her up. She still manages to stand. It doesn't seem possible. She looks at me and I can see the pain in her eyes even though she tries to hide it. I struggle against the guards hold on me as I see another guard walk forward.

"Having trouble here?" The guard asks. The last one to talk nods. I can tell what's going to happen even before the gun is brought out and aimed at Joe. It happens so fast, I didn't have time to think before a loud, ringing, bang tells me it happens. Joe falls to the ground limply. I'm too shocked to struggle as tears fall down my face. She can't be dead. She just can't be! Even as the thought goes through my head, I know it isn't true. The only person who gave me hope in this place is now dead. The guards drag me away, but I don't notice.

Raph's POV:

Night has fallen and Trek and I manage to sneak out again into a cave in the mines less dangerous then the others. We have been doing this ever since we got back from the cave-in/trench. I need to prepare for the take-over. I trust Trek. I hate to admit it, but he has helped me a lot since the day we met. It's obvious Trek is a very skilled fighter. He easily manages to flip me with his tail for the tenth time this week. He helps me to my feet and I walk over to sit on a walk by the wall of the mineshaft.

"Tired my friend?" Trek asks me. I shake my head.

"No, jus' thinkin'," I say. Trek walks over to sit next to me. I look up at him, hoping he won't ask what I'm thinking about. He stays quiet for a moment and I relax.

"I trust you and your brothers to find a way out of this place." Trek says. I stare at him in mild shock. He always seems to know exactly what I'm thinking about. He continues as he stands back up, "Then you will not have to worry anymore. For now we should get some rest."

"Yeah," I say and follow him out. I don't know what to think about him knowing me so well. Maybe it isn't such a bad thing.

Leo's POV:

It's late and I'm thinking about telling Caden to come back to the bunk-rooms with me. I've been watching him more as he trains. He really is a quick study. I walk over to him as he finishes a move I had taught him a few nights ago. "I think that's all for tonight." I say.

"Already?" He asks. He looks disappointed and I can't help but smile at this.

"Yeah," I say, "It's really late."

"Alright," He says, "What will you teach me tomorrow night, sensei?"

I look over at him, my eyes wide. That was the first time he's called me that. I close my eyes tight and shake my head. "Don't call me that," I say, solemnly.

"But that's whatcha are," Caden says, confused, "'Sensei' means 'teacher' right?"

"Yes," I say, rather reluctantly.

"And ya are 'teaching' me," He says, slowly. I nod. "Then that would make you my sensei!" I wince and look away from him.

"You don't understand, Caden," I say, "I don't deserve the title." I remember the truck ride here and I shake my head in an effort to clear it. That memory still haunts me to this day. I should have seen it coming. I don't deserve to be called 'sensei'.

"Leo, dude, stop lowerin' yerself." Caden says, "Now let's get back." He pauses before he says, "_Sensei._" I take a deep breath and roll my eyes. Caden's stubborn streak will just have to be ignored for now. It's too late at night to argue. I follow him back, trapped in memories of my failures.

Mikey's POV:

It takes me away to get back to myself and when I do, I realize what I must have done. A red line of blood had been dragged diagonally across the messages my brothers and I had written. Some of the words are now smeared. Some barely readable. I look down at my hands and see blood. Tears fall down my face and I brush them away with my arm. I look at my arm to see more blood. My face must be covered with it. Joe's blood is all over me and I didn't even notice it until now.

"It's your fault she died ya know." I hear someone say behind me. I turn in a start and see he skull of Henry the Skeleton. _There's no way he said anything, right?_ I look around again, but freeze as I see Henry's jaw move as he says, "Does it hurt to know that?"

"You're dead," I say, staring at the skull.

"Well obviously," Henry says, "Anyone can see that."

"Then how are you talking to me?"

"I'm not," He says, "I'm a visual and auditory hallucination. A figment of your imagination if you will."

"A- No! I'm not listening to you!" I say as I cover my ears and look away from him- no, it! Don't…ah…personify it! It's not talking to me!

"Yeah, like that's working," Henry says, "I'm still here! La, la, la! Talk, talk! Chatter, chatter! Blah, blah, blah!"

"Shut up!" I say, "Go away!"

"Can't," He says, simply and I can almost see him shrug, "I'm here to stay so ya gotta put up with me. Joe died 'cause you entered her life. That's just the way things are."

"No!" I say as I glare at Henry, "That's not true and you know it!"

"Just a technicality," He says.

"How can you be a hallucination and all that you said before if you sound like…well…an evil form of Don?!"

"Don't worry about that, Michelangelo. Just focus on the important things. Joe needed ta die. You were too close to her, messing up her life. She said so herself. She could've handled this herself until you came along."

"You're twisting her words!" I yell, "She never said that!"

"'I thought I could, but then I met you'. She said that. Do you deny it?"

"No," I say, slowly.

"You changed her, weakened her." Henry then looked behind me. I turn back towards the messages on the wall of the trench, now smeared with Joe's blood. "And then ya gave up hope that yer bros will ever save ya." Henry says, "Yer right to worry. There's no way ya can escape. It's too late for you."

"I- no, I…I couldn't have done that," I say as I touch the streaks of dried blood. "Why would I give up hope like that? They're my brothers. I would never do something like that…"

"But you did," Henry says, "I saw ya. The silent observer. You did as soon as they placed ya in here. The rage in your eyes were clear."

"No," I say, "I need my bros."

"Not anymore. They let Joe die. They're not getting anywhere and you know it. They don't care about you."

"No," I say, stronger then before. I turn back to Henry, angrily. "No, that wasn't me! It couldn't have been."

"How would you know? Do you remember not doing it? Do you even remember anything that happened an hour ago? Do you even know how long you've been in here, fully conscious the whole time, mind you?"

"Ah, an hour? Maybe?" I ask. It's hard enough to tell time here anyway. I look up at the sky above. It's dark now and I know it was mid-afternoon when everything went to shell.

"It's been thirty hours." Henry says, "You're pathetic. Do ya realize it now? Thirty hours were you had no knowledge of what you were doing. There's no hope for you. Nothing and you proved this when you crossed out the messages on the wall."

"Why won't you just leave me alone?" I ask, warily as I cry softly. "I have enough things to think about without you butting in."

"You're not strong enough to make me go away." He says, "I'm here to stay."

Donny's POV:

I stay up late as I put the finishing touches on my latest project. It feels great to surround myself in work again. I almost forget what's going on outside the small dark cave. My chains clink together as if to remind me. I ignore it as I can't handle distractions. The four small poles and two short chains Cliff had gotten for me are now starting to resemble what I want them to. I'm sure Mikey will be happy with the two make-shift nunchukus I just finished putting together. I'm sure he misses them as much as I missed my bo staff before Cliff had given me a replacement. Now all I have to do is get back in the trench to leave them for Mikey to find. I hope he's alright. I hope they're all alright. If anything happens to them I'll personally make sure the person responsible is unrecognizable when I'm through with him.

April's POV:

I walk down the hall and, as I pass the Shredder's domain, I hear talking. I stop and try to stay as silent as possible hoping no one will notice me. I know I heard them say something about the guys.

"…right in front of him," I hear a guard say, "You should have seen the look on his face!"

"Where is he now?" The voice of the Shredder asks.

"He's in the trench." He says, "One of the guards posted there says he heard the turtle-freak talking ta 'imself." My eyes widen. _Who? Come on, bastards, who?!_ I listen, hoping to hear a name.

"So he's starting to break?" Shredder says, "Good. I'd expect him to be the first to break. What about the others?"

"Hun's staying away from the one who roughed 'im up. I think he's scared of getting his butt kicked again."

"There's no need for that!" Shredder says, "What about the other two?"

"Don't know. Neither look close ta breakin' ta me. Not even Hun could tempt the one on construction anymore. They seem ta have built up a resistance."

"They'll go soon," Shredder says, "Soon they will be following their dear brother. If I have to, I'll personally make sure of it."

I stand there in shock before I realize the guard's footsteps are coming towards the door. I quickly hide behind a pillar and wait for him to pass. Something tells me they were talking about Mikey. I'll have to pass the message to Don through Annie. He can tell the others. Maybe they can help him.

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**Author's note:** Well, what do you think about this tragedy of Mikey's? I know a lot of you have been waiting for it! Raph's is in two more chapters so that will be hanging over your head now! Mwahahaha! And sometimes, I think his is worse!


	12. Chapter 11

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**Author's note:**  Eeks! Don't kill me for the last part alright? I didn't notice how much of a cliffhanger that could be 'til I had this all typed up! Sorry to all you Raph fans out there! Raph's tragedy begins at the end of this chapter.  Oh great! I just realized what will happen in the next chapter! Just to warn you beforehand...if you can't handle intense torture (and I mean the actual torturing with drugs and other stuff like that) you might not want to read the next chapter after this one. It gets BAD! Please don't kill me for it!

This chapter has two Leo POVs...and Master Splinter has one! Yeah! About time right? Leo's first one has something that happens to Caden in it. April and Casey are the only ones who don't have a POV in this.  After Raph's tragedy is Leo's! It actually happens BECAUSE of Raph's tragedy! (During Leo's tragedy, Master Splinter has two LONG POVs!). I just realized Mikey could be considered as a skitzo(sp?)... The next chapter will be so hard to write for me! Harder then Mikey's was! And they're not even my fav turtles either! Strange...

**Disclaimer:**  Don't own the turtles & company. All I own is my OCs and the plot!

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Leo's POV:

It's been two days now and Caden still insists on calling me sensei. He hasn't said it during the day yet which I'm grateful for, but he always does when training. Normally, I'd probably be alright with it now, but it just keeps reminding me of my mistake. Today, Caden had decided to 'practice' hiding in the shadows and scarring innocent workers. It's really starring to get annoying and the workers start complaining. One of them actually walks up to me and demands me to take care of the problem. I sigh and nod at the guy.

"CADEN!" I yell. He appears in front of and smiles. His grin quickly falls off his face as he notices my stern look. "Stop distracting people." I say, "You don't want to bring to much attention to yourself."

"I'm just practicing," He says, innocently, "I thought it was important that I practice!"

"You know you're irritating some of the workers here," I say, "You're doing it for fun to see their reaction."

"But-" He begins, but I cut him off.

"Caden," I say, "That's not the way it's done." I lower my voice to a whisper, "A real ninja would never use his skill to 'scare' an innocent. There's no honor in that."

"Oh," He says.

"You promise not to bother anyone anymore?" I ask.

"I guess," He says, "But can I do one more thing first? It won't bother anyone, I swear!"

"What is it?" I ask, warily.

"Can I 'practice' on him?" He asks, pointing over my shoulder. I turn to see Hun standing a few feet from me, leaning against the wall of the Empire Building on the platform facing me.

"No," I answer Caden just as Hun begins to walk over to me. I hear Caden moan and grumble behind me, but I ignore him. Hun had ditched the jacket and I can see cuts and bruises on his arms that are partially healed. "Hun," I say, looking at me.

"So who beatcha up again?" Caden asks. I look down at him and he says, "Sorry, jus' askin'."

"Was it one of my brothers?" I ask Hun. He sneers at me.

"I could answer that, but I'd rather you guess. I'd love to see yer reaction." Hun says, "Maybe you'll figure it out?" He glances down at my belt and his sneer widens, "You still keep his mask I see." I unconsciously reach for it.

"So it was Donny?" I ask. I'm sure the shock was evident in my voice. I didn't expect him at all. Hun's still sneering at me.

"What this place can do to yer spirit…" Hun says, "I don't know how long one of the others will last, being broken and all."

"Broken?" I ask. _No… They're stronger then that, right?_

"I hear he was reduced to talking to himself. Already the stupid, pathetic one, I'm surprised he could get worse."

"Mikey?" I ask.

"Back off, creep!" I hear Caden say beside me. I had almost forgot about his presence. I look down at him just as he tries to punch Hun in the gut. Hun doesn't even flinch. He lifts Caden up by his shirt collar and glares at him.

"Put him down!" I say, angrily. I realize my voice doesn't have the power it used to. "PUT HIM DOWN!" I say, stronger this time.

"Whatever ya say," Hun says as he holds Caden over the edge of the platform. Caden looks down at the thirty feet below him and stops struggling.

"That's not what I meant," I say, dangerously. He sneers at me with one hand still holding Caden.

"Then why don'tcha be clearer, freak?" He asks.

"Put him down on this platform." I say, "Right now!"

"What are ya gonna do about it?" Hun says, "One move and I drop the kid to his death."

"Caden," I say, sharing a look with him, "It'll be alright." I look back at Hun as he laughs. I spin-kick him in the gut and he instantly drops Caden. I push Hun back and rush over to the edge of the platform to see Caden managing to hold on to the railing. I turn back to Hun.

"Get going right now," I say, "Before you end up in a worse condition then when Don had beaten you!" Hun gives me a hateful stare and he lashes out at me. I dodge and kick him back. As he recovers, I quickly turn to help Caden up.

"Ya could have given me a better warnin' sensei," Caden says as he's finally on solid ground. I can feel Hun approach me from behind and I quickly aim my elbow behind me and feel as it hits Hun, causing him to grunt. I turn and push him to the ground, roughly.

"Woah!" Caden says, "Ya gotta teach me how ta do that!"

"What?" I ask as I watch Hun get back to his feet.

"That fighting thing when-yer-back-is-turned-and-still-hittin'-da-dude thing."

"Maybe later," I say as I watch more guards coming out of nowhere and surround me. Hun walks over to me, smirking.

"I'm gonna enjoy this," He says and prepares to punch me, but Caden quickly grabs his arm to hold him back. Hun's too strong for him and Caden is easily thrown aside. I watch as he slides down the wall, most-likely out cold. As I'm distracted by this, Hun punches me in my face. The guards then grab hold of and begin to drag me away. I hope Caden's going to be alright. It would be all my fault if he isn't. Just another casualty in my life full of stupid mistakes.

Mikey's POV:

I find myself talking to Chief Crayne in the cave Joe and I used to spar in without any knowledge of how I got here. I can tell he's been talking to me for a while now, but I'm only just beginning to listen. "When did I get here exactly?" I ask, looking around.

"About two hours ago," Chief says, patiently. That's when I remember Chief was Joe's grandfather. I look over at him. _Well, he could look upset, but he also seems more worried about me right now._ "I led you here because we need to talk," He says, "You've been acting different since they took you out of the trench this morning."

"Morning?" I ask, "It's been a day now?"

"Yes," He says, "Are you alright, kid?"

"Henry…" I mumble. I know he must be the one doing this to me. With his big words and dominant personality I'm sure he could do this easily.

"Who's Henry?" Chief asks me.

"He's messing with my head," I say, "He keeps saying it's my fault Joe died. He's telling me to give up. That I already have."

"Henry said this?" He asks, "It wasn't your fault Joe died. She was a strong, spirited young girl. It's easier to kill someone like that then to try to break her."

"Are you saying it's her fault?"

"No, not at all," Chief kneels down beside me, "I'm saying that the guards here knew that they had to kill her. It was bound to happen some time. Her spirit was too strong for a place like this. If she had never come here, I'm sure she would've acted just like you."

"Me?!" I ask, my eyes widening, "She always seemed to act more like my brother!"

"This place changed her, Michelangelo. It can change anyone. It molded her into was she was. It ripped away her innocence." He paused and then said, "You gave that innocence back to her when she met you."

"So it was my fault?"

"I never said that," Chief says as he looks at me, sternly, "You gave her spirit life. Her saved her from dying inside."

"But I couldn't save her on the outside!" I say as I feel a tear fall down my face.

"She was happy," He says, "You made her happy. If there was anything you caused it was to open her heart."

"I want to believe it wasn't my fault she died, but Henry's right…"

"No he is not. Joe's body may have died that night, but her strength resides in you now. You can call up that strength. You are stronger then this 'Henry'. You can get rid of him."

"No I can't. I'm too weak. I'm worthless."

"Michelangelo, Henry is a part of you. He _is_ you, your doubt, your anger at yourself. He's keeping you from being whole. Use his own strength to beat him. I'm sure Joe's strength will come to your aid as well. Don't let Henry control your life."

"He's too powerful!" I say. Now even more tears are falling down my face. I can feel Henry start taking over.

"Your power is his as well. Use it!" Chief says. His voice sounds far off as darkness surrounds me.

"The old man lies." Henry's voice says from somewhere within my own head, "My power is mine alone and a weak little thing like you has no chance of stopping me!"

Donny's POV:

As I am working, I hear Annie call out to me and I turn as she walks over. "Hey, Annie," I say, somewhat surprised of her visit.

"I come bearing sad news from April." Annie says to me.

"What is it?" I ask.

"She had overheard a conversation between the Shredder and his guards and found out a few things about you brothers."

"What?" I ask.

"Well the good news is: Leonardo and Raphael seem to be doing fine at the present time."

"What about Mikey?" I ask, dreading the answer.

"Michelangelo was forced to watch as the girlfriend he made here-" She begins, but I cut her off.

"He made a girlfriend here?" I ask, surprised.

"Yeah, her name's Jona. Well he had to watch her be murdered right in front of him."

"What?! Really?!" I ask, "Is he alright?!"

"The guards heard him talking to himself in the trench." She says.

"Just talking to himself…?"

"Well, to someone that wasn't there: a dialogue with no one."

"So he might have PTSD…" I say just as Cliff joins us.

"Did ya say Jona?" Cliff asks Annie.

"Why, do you know her?" I ask him, focusing my attention on him instead of my brother's emotional state for now.

"She's one tough gal." He says, "I used to be roomed with her before her death. She was my link to the factory. She's the only gal who doesn't work at the Empire Building due to her temperament."

"I heard she was kicked out for refusing to wear the kimono uniform and working for, as she calls him, 'a stupid can opener who's compensating for his overlarge ego'!" Annie exclaims.

"She said that?!" I ask, close to laughing.

"Yeah, Joe can be careless about what she says and does," Cliff says.

"I can't believe Mikey would fall in love with her," I ask. _She seems to be more Raph's type!_

"That's the way it seems," Annie says.

"Now Mikey's not coping well after her death…" I say slowly.

"Who would after that?" Cliff asks.

"April said that the Shredder said he is broken." Annie says, sadly.

"He can't be…" I say, "I have to get into that trench! I need to try to help him through this!"

"It's definitely worth a try." Cliff says.

Leo's POV:

As soon as I'm placed in the trench, my eyes widen at the streak of blood crossing out our messages. _Did Mikey do this?_ I pick up the chalk we've been using to write a new message. I have to find out if Mikey's alright. I hope he is. If one of us loses hope, the rest might follow. I can't let that happen. I've already messes up once. I've got to redeem myself. I've got to keep us together.

Splinter's POV (bought time, right?):

I can tell Leonardo was upset. He hides it well to others, but I can see it plainly. I wish I could help my son, but he must overcome this himself this time. I hope he can do it. He must! I look up to see Caden. He is such a strong spirit for one so young. I'm surprised to see him with his head down, staring at the ground with an emotion I can not determine. His spirit seems weakened to me and this greatly worries me. There are bandages wrapped around his hands and bare feet. I wonder what had been done to the kid when he had been taken away.

Raph's POV:

Today seems to be going alright so far. I still can't stop worrying about my brothers. I have a feeling Trek knows I am thinking about them. He always seems to know. I start to get a major headache and I feel exhausted and slightly dizzy. I can't keep my eyes open anymore. I guess it's getting late.

"Raphael!" I hear Trek say. I find myself on the ground without remembering how I got there. I move to lift myself up off the ground, but my muscles don't seem able to hold my weight.

"Everyone OUT!" I hear someone yell through the crowd. I feel Trek lift me off the ground and drape me over his shoulder.

"I can walk myself," I say, irritably, but Trek doesn't seem to hear me. My vision begins to get blurry and now I _really_ can't keep my eyes open anymore. I don't know why I feel so weak. I try to move, but nothing happens.

"What happened?" I hear a guard ask.

"The mines!" Says the first guard to have spoken, breathing heavily, "The air is poisonous!"

"Everyone who's reacting to it, bring to the infirmary immediately!"

I feel myself being pulled away from Trek at that moment as he says, "No! Wait!"

"He needs to be treated," The guard holding me says.

"He's fine! Don't take him to the infirmary!" Trek yells.

"I have my orders," The guard says. I wonder what happens at the infirmary that makes Trek so worried. I guess I'm going to find out. I let the darkness take me then…

**Author's not:** Hey? You heard about Carbon Monoxide poisoning right? It's one of the most common poisonous gas that kills miners. It's the reason for the whole canary thing the miners bring into the mine to test the air. If they die, the air is poisonous and the miners have to run out as fast as possible if they don't want to be killed in the few minutes it takes to happen! I feel really bad for those poor canaries that were lost for that reason. Well that's what happened to Raph if you didn't know. I actually looked up the symptoms for it to best portray it! Hehe...Raph fainted... That was fun to write. The fainting part I mean. Not the whole "No, Raph is going to die now!" thing. Just so guys don't skewer me for that statement...Raph is not gonna die because of that! Trek had gotten him out fast enough! Whatever you do, do NOT kill me! It's what happens next you should be worrying about! Please leave none-life-threatening reviews or you will not be able to find out what happens next! I AM all-powerful!


	13. Chapter 12

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**Warning:** THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS DRUG-INDUCED AND PHYSICAL TORTURE. IF YOU CAN NOT HANDLE THAT YOU MAY NOT WANT TO READ RAPH'S POVS. JUST KNOW RAPH WILL BE TORTURED IN THIS CHAPTER AND THE NEXT.

**Author's note:** I am sorry for writing the torture written in this chapter, but for me it was unavoidable. There will be two Mikey POVs and two Raph's POVs in this chapter. The other two only get one in the beginning of it. It will be hard to notice the time change in Mkey's POVs as he does not know it himself, but Raph's defintely begins the next day! I've planned out what the next two chapters will include to reduce ending up with a short chapter. Some things must stay together in one chapter while others need to be separated. I really didn't like separating Raph's torture in two chapters but it was necessary flow the word-count to not be too different for the nezt two chapters. (ex: Leo's tragedy's POV had to proceed Splinter's POV or the flow of the fic will be damaged. Um...that scene goes from Leo's to Splinter's for a VERY good reason that you will find out in two more chapters... Shall we say Leo doesn't know what's going on really during Splinter's part??? Is that too much info???)  Well, anyway...please continue reading the next part of Messages on the Wall!

EDIT: I forgot to mention something.  I felt a little poetic while writing Mikey in the last part of his first POV in this chapter so I apologise beforehand if he sound a little OOC using words I usually restrict to other characters. The original version was too confusing so I revised it that way!

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own the turtles & company and you'll know when and if I ever do!  My wonderful OCs, Mikey's split personality, Henry, and the plot are all mine.  Special thanks to my friend (A Raph-fanatic by the way) who helped supply some of the different forms of torture that went into this fic. She might of hated herself for it afterwards, but her help made those scenes possible!

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Leo's POV:

As soon as I'm forced to go back to work, I notice Caden. He's not looking at me and I'm instantly worried. "Caden?" I ask. He looks at me with his eyes only, "Are you alright?"

"Fine," He says simply. He turns away from me, but I grab his arm before he can walk away. I look at his hand and two of his fingers are missing.

"Caden, what happened?"

"Nothing," He says. I can't see his face, but I can tell he's crying silently.

"Come here," I say as I pull him out of sight of he guards. "Now tell me what happened."

"I don't wanna."

"Just tell me, Caden. I have to know."

"No you don't," Caden says as he sits down with his head still turned away from me. I turn his face towards me. He looks at me with wide eyes, his cheeks wet with tears.

"Caden please tell me what happened to you."

"The infirmary…" He says as he manages to turn away from me again.

"The infirmary?"

"At least that's what they call it…" Caden says, haltingly, "They make you feel better. Then when you alright again, they torture you endlessly. It was terrible. They made me feel like my whole body was on fire. And they cut me. They cut off two fingers on one hand and one on the other. They also cut off a few of my toes. They were threatening to cut my whole arm off!" After hearing that, my hatred for this place grew. I hope that none of my brothers ever get brought to the infirmary.

Donny's POV:

I do manage to get myself sent to the trench, as I wanted. I'm shocked to see what Mikey had done to the messages. I notice Leo had gotten in before me. I add my message to the wall and place the nunchukus I had put together for my younger brother behind the stone crevice Raph had ingeniously created for just such a purpose. Maybe they will cheer Mikey up? I hope they will…

Mikey's POV:

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" I scream as loud as I can. I can sense Henry somewhere nearby in the dark abyss surrounding me but I can't see him. I hear him laugh at me. He's in control now and I am to weak to fight him off.

"That's right," Henry says, "You're too weak. Too weak to do anything but cry about your poor dead girlfriend you ended up getting killed."

"That's not true," I say, weakly.

"Then how come you're not making any progress against me? There's been no improvement in your current condition for the past couple days. No sign you even tried to get rid of me. You know why this is, Michelangelo? You need me. You are _nothing_ without me."

"You're wrong…"

"Can't you see how pathetic you are? A pathetic and useless creature. I don't even know why you try. You know the truth. I know you do. I know _you_. You can not hide anything from me because I _am_ you. Without me, you'd be overwhelmed with your own self-loathing. You don't even need me here to feel the guilt of your own selfish mistake. You ultimately caused Joe's death and you, yourself, can not deny this."

"Shut up…" I say. My voice sounds weak to my ears. I can't gain control. He's right. I'm too weak.

"_Don't give up hope, Mikey…if you can't make it here, then I certainly can't."_

"_Stay strong Michelangelo."_

Joe had told me to stay strong, but how can I? I'm not like her. I've never been the strong type and my bros know this.

"_If she had never came here, I'm sure she would've acted just like you."_

I don't see how Joe could ever act like me. What made Chief say something like that?

"…_her strength resides in you now. You can call up that strength."_

How can I do that? It's not possible. I have no strength…

"…_Use his own strength to beat him… Your power is his as well. Use it!"_

I don't know if I can! Can I do something like that? Can I gain control? I need help!

"Just try to stop me!" Henry says, "You can never get rid of me. You are mine!"

"There has to be a way…" I say. Henry laughs again, but I ignore him. A new presence had neared me in the dark surrounding me. The presence grabs my hand, softly leading me through this dark world. A red-ish orange-ish glow starts to grow in front of my eyes and come to myself for only a moment. That moment was all I needed to force myself to stumble into the person in front of me, causing us both to fall to the ground. I can here the guy complaining and the guards start yelling at me for my clumsiness. I can't concentrate on what they're actually saying as I feel Henry's presence getting stronger and start to pull my consciousness back into my dark internal cell. The energy to take control for only that brief moment had exhausted me and I allow myself return to the nothingness. I hope the guards send me to the trench for what I had done. Maybe my brother's messages can help me get rid of Henry forever.

Raph's POV:

I open my eyes slowly and wearily. The room hazily comes into focus and it takes me awhile to recognize my surroundings as a lab of some sort. I try to move, but metal restraints hold me back to a metal table. Looking around, my eyes land on a familiar face: Baxter Stockman. "Notcho," I say in a low, growl.

"I did save your life, you ungrateful reptile," Stockman says in an almost regretful tone. The gleam in his eyes tells me immediately something is up.

"Fer what?" I ask him.

"To watch you break," Says another voice. I sharply turn to face Hun as he walks over to me. "Go ahead and start, Stockman. I wanna see this."

"Start what?!" I ask angrily. I turn back to Stockman just in time to see he hold up a syringe. "Oh no!" I say, glaring at Stockman, "Stay away from me wit' dat needle!"

"It doesn't look like you have a choice in the matter." Stockman says.

"Stay away from me!" I say with my teeth clenched together. I've never liked needle very much. Yeah I can handle them when it's Don giving me a shot or something, but this is entirely different. Who knows what is in that syringe. It could be anything and I can never trust Stockman! I try to hid the fear welling up inside me. "Don'tcho _dare_ bring dat needle any closer ta me! Ya hear me! DON'TCHO DARE!" I continue to protest, but for what my words could've done, I might as well been speaking to a wall. Stockman stabbed me with the syringe into my arm. I resist showing him any type of reaction as I glare at him. "What didja jus' inject inta me?!" I ask.

"You'll find out soon enough." He says.

"Tell me right now!" I growl. Instead of answering, he sneers at me. I struggle against my restraints, but I soon find it worthless to try. Slowly, I start to notice my heart-rate increasing. At first it doesn't seem too bad, but it soon becomes unbearable. My heart is pounding against my chest so hard it feels like my ribs could crack under the pressure. I hold back my scream of pain as I glare at Stockman.

"It should be working now." Stockman says with an evil grin, "You should fell your heart practically bursting out of your chest by now." He lays his hand on my plastron as if to feel my heartbeat and smiles sinisterly.

"I'm a gonna wipe dat smile of yer face in a minute!" I say as I again struggle against my restraints with no success.

"I'd love to see you try," Stockman says, "You'll never get out of those restraints and you're only making your position worse by increasing your already rapid heartbeat." He walks away from me and begins to search for something on a table with his back turned. When he turns back towards me, he's holding a scalpel in his hand.

"And whaddaya gonna do wit' dat?" I ask, dreading the answer. He ignores me as he places the blade of the scalpel against my skin and presses down until I see a drop of my blood begin to seep out. I clench my teeth harder and squeeze my eyes shut against the small twinge of pain as he makes the cut longer…

Mikey's POV:

The guard did end up sending me to the trench and I read the new messages left for me. "They still care," I say, sadly smiling.

"They just know how pathetic you are," Henry says, "You're so pathetic, you always need their help to do anything."

"Everyone needs help once and a while." I say.

"Not every minute of every day as you do!" Henry sneers. "Who's gonna help you this time?"

"I am!" Says another voice. I look around me, but soon realize the voice is coming from my own head.

"Joe?" I ask.

"Would it be alright if I help ya take down this jerk?" Joe's voice says.

"Of course!" I say, happily. I feel her presence fill me and my grin grows. I pick up Henry's skull and crush it in my hands to a fine, powdery dust. It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I feel more at peace then I ever did since I entered this hell. "Thanks Joe," I murmur under my breath.

"I'll always be here for you," I hear her say, her voice now a distant echo. I turn back to the messages on the wall and re-read the two new ones. I'm curious at what Donny's says and I carefully pull out the stone covering the small crevice and reach inside, feeling around. My fingers wrap around something and I pull it out, revealing a set of metal nunchukus.

"Thanks Don," I whisper as I hold them close to me. I write a message telling my bros I'm alright now. I'm almost positive Henry's gone for good.

Raph's POV:

Stockman slowly cuts into my skin again. I've lost count on how many times he's cut me. With each beat of my still rapid heartbeat, more blood oozes out of the many cuts to my skin. I'm most-likely bleeding badly by now, but I can't open my eyes and check. If I do, I might start screaming from the pain.

Then it seems Stockman stops, but he's not gone for long. I feel a burning object come in contact with my skin. "What is dat?!" I yell as I open my eyes. I watch as Stockman place another red-hot coal directly on one of the cuts on my arm. I automatically try to jerk away from it, but it doesn't make much difference. I feel my skin burn under each coal Stockman places on me. It's getting harder to hold back from screaming but I can't- I _won't_ give them what they want. They are not going to break me that easily. With each burning coal placed on me, the harder it gets to ignore. I clench my fists as I try to move. I don't know how long I can keep this up, but I must try.

"Open your eyes," Stockman orders me.

"Why should I listen ta you?" I ask with my teeth clenched.

"'Cause if you don't, I'll drop this burning coal right on your eye." He says, "That might even be more painful then them just on your body. It's no fun torturing you if you don't watch what I'm doing to you."

"Tough!" I say.

"Do you want to be blind?" He asks, "Because that can be arranged."

"Why don'tcha jus' leave me alone?!" I yell as my eyes snap open. I see Stockman smile as he holds up a burning coal above my face by metal tongs.

"That's better," He says before he lowers the coal so it's right above my eye. I try to turn away, but he just follows. I close my eyes tight.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" I yell at him. He again doesn't respond. Instead I feel a burning liquid splash onto me. This time I can't hold back my scream of torment.

"'Bout time," I hear Hun grunt.

"He's tough, but not even he could hold back his scream this time. Acid on open wounds is very painful." Stockman says.

"Skip da science lesson," Hun says back. I want to voice a reply, but I can't. I can feel the acid burning my skin as it seeps into my open wounds. I don't think I've ever been in this much pain before. I feel Stockman splash more acid on me. I can't stop screaming…

**Author's note:** Do not threaten me or I might just let Raph die from all the torturing! AND I won't update! Mwahahaha! Nice reviews commenting on the making of this fic's chapter and pleas for more updates are allowed. You have to give me _some_ credit for writing Mikey getting rid of Henry! And Donny's kindness for thinking of Mikey and making those nunchukus!


	14. Chapter 13

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**Warning:** THERE IS TORTURE IS THIS CHAPTER AS WELL! IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE IT THEN... WELL, I DON'T KNOW... IT MIGHT BOTHER YOU!

**Author's note:** I noticed while typing this that Mikey doesn't get a POV in this chapter! I know right? Usually I have all of the turtles POVs... Casey has one this time though! So I got Donny, Raph, Leo, Casey, and April... That's it! They are the only ones who get POVs in this chapter! I couldn't give Mikey a POV this time due to something I want to wait to do next chapter (Leo's tragedy by the way in in the next chapter!). Oh! Just remembered Trek gets a POV this time! It's the last one in this chapter! It had to be that way... Read the end note because I will be revealing something that isn't quite clear...

**My Reply to Leonardo15:** I can't reply to you normally, but I want to thank you for your reviewing! You give the most constructive critisism than anyone else and it really helps! Thanks for reading! :D

**Disclaimer:** Of course I don't the turtles & company. I just write about them because they are so awesome! My OCs and the plot are the only thing that DOES belong to me. Thanks to my bestest friend (in real life and though internet like this), Mrs-Raphael-Hamato, who helped me with Raph's torture scenes. Believe me though, she hated doing it afterwards...

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Donny's POV:

I am busy working when Annie comes up to me.

"Donatello?" She says, "I'm here to tell you that one of your brothers are in the infirmary." Cliff looks up from where he was working.

"The infirmary?" He asks.

"Yes, the infirmary. I saw him get brought in."

"You saw him?" I ask, "Who exactly and did he look alright?"

"According to April when I told her, it was Raphael," She says, "And other then being unconscious, he looked fine."

"So he's in the infirmary now," Cliff says, "I hope he doesn't break easily."

"Why?" I ask, "What does the infirmary do here?"

"Well, they do what they are supposed to do at first," Cliff explains, "But when you're all better, they start torturing you; usually for the whole day. When did they bring him in?"

"Yesterday," Annie says, "Mid-afternoon."

"They could be torturing him right now."

"Just because you get hurt, they torture you?" I ask, "That's not right!" I clench my fist, but then a thought comes to me. "That one time I almost died, you kept me in a cave while you were taking care of me."

"Yeah, I didn't want the guards findin' ya or they would have taken you to the infirmary." He says.

"I need to inform by brothers about Raph." I say, "I have to get back into the trench."

Raph's POV:

I am breathing heavily. The pain's almost unbearable. My eyes are closed tight and my voice is hoarse from screaming. I feel some kind of liquid splash on me, and I briefly open my eyes a little to find it's only water. _What's he planning on doing to me next?_ Then I find out. He electrocutes me and the water makes the pain worse. I clench my teeth together and lean back instead of screaming.

"I know it hurts," Stockman says, "You can scream if you want to." I don't respond as he electrocutes me again. My fists clench as I feel the electricity shoot through my body._ Why is this happening to me? What have I done to deserve this? When will it end?_ I ask myself these questions as Stockman electrocutes me for a third time. _How easy it would be to die right now… No! I can't think like that! My bros need me!_

I feel my restraints open, but I lay limply on the table, refusing to move. Arms drag me off the table and I wince. Briefly, I am dragged along the floor and then left to fall to the ground. I feel a sharp pain to my wrist and open my eyes slightly to see Stockman insert a hook into each of my wrists. I watch him walk away and press a button on a control panel. I scream out as I am lifted by the hooks in my wrists. I can feel the hooks rip the delicate skin, muscle, and veins. I lift my legs off the ground a little to only find the pain worsen so I let them drop back to the ground. I try to stand to take the weight off my aching wrists, but I'm left to hang centimeters off the ground. I try to use the wall to hold myself up, but that doesn't work either.

"It's nice to see you haven't given up hope yet," Stockman says, "I love seeing you struggle."

"Go burn in hell." I say. My voice sounds hoarse and weak and definitely not the least bit threatening. _I'm breaking. How will I be able to handle what he's doing to me? He's already reduced me to a weaker version of myself. I never knew anyone could do that. I'm pathetic now. Maybe I shouldn't fight it anymore. It's not like we could get anywhere. If they can break me, they will easily break Don and Mike as well. Possibly even Leo! If I die today, my brothers will still have Leo to get them through this place. I'd just get in the way…_

My eyes are shut tight so I don't notice as something is applied to my face. I can't open my eyes anymore, but I don't have to in order to know Stockman's not finished with me yet. I feel something slowly enter my mouth. It burns my throat as it slowly travels down to my lungs. I start coughing almost instantly as the pain in my wrists becomes forgotten compared to the burning feeling in my lungs. I can barely breath and I'm fairly certain I'm starting to tear up. I thought I was in worse pain before, but this is unbelievable! _Oh just let me die! Please let me die now! I can't take this anymore!_ I can't get pure air into my lungs no matter how hard I try. With each breath it gets worse. I know I must be tearing up now. It's too much! It's almost like my lungs are on fire! Make it go away!

Leo's POV:

Caden's mood change is really worrying me. He actually fears the guards now. It only just occurs to me how much I need him to be his immature self. I'm definitely going to appreciate Mikey more after this… If I ever see him again and he hasn't changed as well. I worriedly look at Caden as he stares at the ground blankly at my side. He hasn't left my side since he's told me about the accursed infirmary. I grab hold of his hand almost unconsciously. There has to be a way to return him to his original self…right? Doubting myself isn't a good sign. I hope I'm not losing it…

Caden looks up at me as if he knows I'm in need of comfort. I force myself to smile down at him. He shouldn't have to worry about me. I am the one that should be worrying about him. _I am always worrying about someone. Maybe I worry too much?_ I shake my head to clear that thought from my mind. I have to worry. I mean, who else will?

Casey's POV:

Maybe I should've eaten what those losers had given me when I had the chance, but who in their right mind would eat that crap? It looked- and smelled- like something that cat had barfed up before it died from the taste in it's mouth. I probably would've followed the cat if I had eaten it.

I am tired of trying to find a way out of this cage I'm in. I'm just plain _BORED!_ My stomach chooses this time to remind me of how hungry I am. I instantly sit down, squeezing my eyes shut. When I get out of here, I'm going to pound every last one of those punks who left me in here. I'm not one to like being locked away like a caged animal. They won't even let my own to do my business! Crazy guards!

My stomach grumbles again and I wince. _Yep, I should've eaten that slime they left for me._ Next time I won't skip a meal. Maybe my time here won't be so lousy if I could at least know if it is day or night. The little flickering yellow light given off from the light bulb chained to the ceiling is really starting to piss me off. If it don't stop swinging back and forth, I swear I'm going to rip it from the ceiling. But that would leave me without my only light source.

If I wasn't already exhausted, I'd go back to pacing. Thankfully, I have an excuse to force myself to lie down on the table-that-thinks-it's-a-bed. I know if I wasn't tired, there would be no way I could get to sleep. The bed was lumpy in all the wrong places and, well, it shouldn't be called a bed as it felt like lying on a hard metal table. After I lay down though, I instantly fall asleep, with my rumbling stomach only barely keeping me awake.

April's POV:

Again I find myself facing the Shredder in all his metal glory (note the sarcasm). My hatred for him intensifies with each day. He looks down at me as he tapes the arm rest of his chair with his gauntleted fingers.

"You should bow to me, servant!" He commands. I only glare fearlessly at him. "After all these weeks, you still refuse to obey me? Do you have some foolish hope that anyone will save you? How long will it take you to realize that I'm in charge here and your merely a pawn that I can dispose of in an instant if I so choose? The only reason you still live is because I have so far ignored your continuous misdeeds, but my patience is running low. BOW NOW!" He yells the last words and causes electricity to surge through my body. I collapse almost instantly and glare up at him.

The Shredder stands and walks over to me. He lifts my face towards him by my chin with his hand. He squeezes my cheeks so tightly, I squeeze my eyes shut against the pain. "I shall let you witness one of the turtles death. Maybe that will be what needs to be done to get you to obey me, servant!" He throws me back to the floor, hard, and I barely have enough time to lift myself up before I am thrown out of the room.

As I struggle to my feet, Annie rushes over to me and helps me up. "Are you alright?" She asks.

"Fine," I say, "Annie? I think he's going to try to kill one of the turtles."

"Do you know which one?"

"I don't even think he knows at this time." I begin the slow walk back to my room as Annie follows close behind.

"What do you want me to do?" She asks.

"The only thing you can do," I say as I open the door to my room, "Tell Don to warn the others. They need to be on alert."

Trek's POV (yes, he has a POV!):

It has been a week since Raphael was poisoned by the mine's air. Three days ago, I saw the guards drop him at the mines and I had helped him inside. Three days and he hasn't spoken a word to me yet. I know the dangers of the infirmary, but I sincerely hoped they would not do as I feared to my friend, but it seems they have. There is no talking to him nowadays.

When I look into his eyes, I see emptiness. He's hollow and broken. He moves slowly and with little care. In fact, I remember yesterday when someone had accidentally knocked into Raphael and sent him to the ground. My friend had merely picked himself up and continued what he had been doing without even acknowledging the culprit.

I'm afraid to admit the some nights, I dream horrible nightmares evolving my friend. In one such dream, I wake to see Raphael's empty bed. Fear had gripped me then as I thought I knew what had become of him. I fear in those night visions that Raphael had decided life was not worth living anymore and had gone off to take his own without a thought to how it would effect those around him.

When I wake from these night terrors drenched in cold sweat, I search out Raphael's bed and notice he is still sleep. I remember him clearly that night. He was sweating as well and shaking slightly as if some unknown terror had decided to haunt his dreams as well. One of his hands was resting on his plastron over the blanket and the other was lying over the edge of the bed. It was the only time he looked more like himself. He was even muttering to himself, though it was incoherently. Even that brought a slight smile to my face to hear his voice again.

I remember he had jerked in his sleep and his blanket had fallen to the floor. I had stood quickly and replaced them around him. It startled me to notice his rapid heartbeat and heavy breathing. I admit now that I was scared to wake him from the obvious nightmare that I knew then was troubling him, because I knew that when he woke, he would be back to his vacant self. It was somewhat selfish of me to watch as my friend suffered just because I couldn't handle his conscious behavior.

I must reveal though that as I had walked back to my bed that night, I swear I heard him mutter one name clearly and it wasn't mine, but hi brother's Leonardo. I'll never forget the way he said it. I had froze, half-hoping to hear him say more and my wish was granted though now I wish I hadn't heard. I feel that I had intruded on something private that I should not have heard, but nothing can remove the words from my mind; his low mutter: "Leo…help me…"

**Author's note:** Alright, a few things I must explain. That gas that burns Raph's lungs is mustard gas. My friend's idea actually... After his day-long torture, he was placed in the trench for...two days. Trek's POV starts three days later after his release. Alright... next chapter will hopefully be out tomorrow like I want it to... Please review! They make me feel so happy!


	15. Chapter 14

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**Author's POV:** Be warned. This is the start of Leo's tragedy and the beginning of the climax to this fic. Master Splinter gets TWO POVs in this chapter! April and Casey don't get one though... Oh! And Donny and Mikey's POVs are not to my liking, but there is nothing I can do about them... I hope you like this chapter. Sorry about the long wait, but I was not here to post the last two days as I was visiting a friend. I apologise for that!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the turtles & company. Just the plot and my OCs belong to me!

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Leo's POV:

I feel so helpless as I watch Caden move about. I can tell he's still not over what the infirmary had done to him and it's been four days! I can't believe nothing has worked to snap him out of it. My attention is quickly diverted to a more immediate problem. For the first time since my arrival, my eyes land on the Shredder as he exits the Empire Building. He's walking straight towards me. I glare at him as he approaches.

"Leonardo," The Shredder says as a greeting and I instantly collapse due to the electricity he caused to surge through my body. The Shredder lifts me by the ends of my mask and looks at me. "I believe it's been a little more then two months since I last spoke to you."

"Release me," I say in a monotone. He only smiles as he grabs my chains and pulls me forward, releasing my mask tails in the process.

"May I give you an update an your brother's well-being as of late?" He asks. My only response is to glare back at him. "I'd say Raphael is of the most concern right now." He waits for me to respond, but I refuse to so he continues anyway, "I hear the infirmary did a number on him."

"The infirmary?!" I almost choke out. The Shredder smiles at my response.

"Yes, I see you know what it does to all how enter?" He asks, "That makes this much easier to talk about. You see, I hear your pathetic brother couldn't handle the torture he went through and broke into a million tiny pieces. Oh he may still be alive, but his soul is dead as long with his will to fight."

"You monster!" I roar through clenched teeth. I don't know if I should believe him, but something tells me he's right and I knew it all along. The thought of my brother as an empty shell is like a stab to the heart. I don't know what I'd do without him. He may be hard to deal with at times, but he's always the first on the scene when trouble's brewing.

Slowly I begin to realize the Shredder is still talking to me. I focus on what he's saying. "…One down and the others will soon follow." He was saying. He reaches toward my belt and unties Donny's bloodied mask. He holds it in front of me and smirks. "You still have this?" He asks.

"Give it back!" I yell at him, but he ignores me.

"Is this a treasured keepsake to remind you of your brother?" He asks, "I can tear it up and burn it for you."

"No!" I yell, "Give it back!" As an afterthought, I add, "Undamaged!"

"Undamaged? Don't fool yourself, Leonardo. This is a bloody piece of ruined cloth with absolutely no use to anyone anymore." He says as he holds it, ready to tear it apart it his hands. I know he's right. It was a useless cloth now, but It belonged to my brother. It's the only part of him I can see and touch to remind myself he's still out there. It may be bloody, but that had dried now and I had even tried to clean it when I had the chance. I know it might sound strange to keep it, but it's like a part of Don is always with me wherever I go. I can't get rid of it.

As the Shredder proceeds to threaten me with tearing it, I try to reach for it in a pathetic attempt to get it back, reminding me of a little kid trying to grab something that had been stolen from him by jumping up and down, but the thing the kid wants is held just out of reach by a taller kid who doesn't even have to move an inch. I stop my ridiculous attempt and glare at him instead.

"You are pathetic," The Shredder says, chuckling manically, "To care for something as useless as a piece of cloth when you should be more worried about him." He pointed over his shoulder towards Master Splinter who was currently being beaten up by some guards. My eyes widen.

"What do you THINK your doing!" I ask, loudly, "He has no way to defend himself and you ATTACK him?! Where is your honor!" I run over to the scene and yell, "STOP THIS!" The guards glance at me, sneering, before they continue with what they were doing. I watch as my sensei is battered by those- those- I can't think of a word harsh enough! My eyes narrow.

"I wonder how much more he can take." The Shredder replies calmly. After that, all self-control drops.

Splinter's POV:

I'm used to the beatings by now, but Leonardo is not used to watching it. I can hear him yelling and I know it's not going to help. "Leonardo!" I yell through my pain. I look through my slightly closed eye-lids and look at my son. He turns back to me as I can his name. "Don't lose focus!" I yell, just as I feel one of the guards punch me in the stomach. I cough up blood, but I ignore it as I look back at Leonardo. His face had darkened, which reminds me of the look I had seen on Raphael countless times. I can tell he had seen the attack and my warning was lost to him.

"All of you get away from my sensei right now!" My son growls. He sounds so menacing I am surprised that guards didn't listen. I am even more sure that this is a ploy to lure Leonardo into acting out. I know all my warnings will fall on deaf ears.

I wince as I am kicked in the back. I feel someone grab my tail and twist it into a knot. I clench my teeth against the pain. As that is happening, someone else kicks and punches me in the chest. The pounding stops suddenly and I open my eyes to see Leonardo had wrapped his chains around the guard's neck and is holding them tight. The look in my son's eyes is almost demonic.

"No, Leonardo!" I yell, but to no avail. I watch as the guard slowly goes limp in his arms and another punches Leonardo in the back of his head. The limp guard falls to the ground as Leonardo turns to face the guard who punched him.

"Who's next?" Leonardo growls. The guards surround him now and I'm forced to watch as Leonardo collapses withering in pain and a guard kicks him hard, knockin him unconscious. Then they crowd around him, blocking my view, but I can tell they must be beating him. I close my eyes and turn away.

"Take him to one of the dungeon cells." The Shredder says, "He will be executed tomorrow." The words seem to send a stabbing pain to my heart. This is not good at all.

Mikey's POV:

Henry has not made a reappearance and I'm thankful for that. He was really scary. I mean a talking skull? It was like something out of a horror movie! Chief informed me later that Henry wasn't just a skull but a multiple personality. I never had multiply personality disorder before. Well it's a good thing he's gone now.

After a day's visit in the trench, I find a message from Don informing everyone that Raph was in the infirmary. He also described what they do there. It's makes me glad Joe died on the spot instead of going there. I hope Raph's okay. I know I broke for a time, but I'm better now. If I can do that, Raph should be able to too, right? Well I guess I kind of had help. If Raph gets the help that he needs, he will definitely snap out of it! I would help him if I was with him, but that's not possible thanks to Shred-head. He really annoys me! The only good thing he did was make me braver. I needed to be brave in this place and this place, and Joe, helped me find that courage.

Donny's POV:

Annie's information that the Shredder was planning on killing on of us worried me. I haven't been able to pass the message along yet. I hope Raph's alright and I wonder who the Shredder has decided to kill. I hope we can get out before that, but I don't know if we can. Our escape's plan's basically on hold until we're sure Raph can go through with it. I hope this nightmare ends before one of us ends up dead!

Splinter's POV:

I can not remove the image from my mind of Leonardo as he was taken away. It's hard to believe that I may not see him again. I have to find a way to pass on the message of what I had seen. It takes me a minute to recognize Raphael as he approaches. His hollow being worries me. Night has fallen so, as usual when I see him, his face is in shadow. I can see he's looking down at the ground below him in an empty way and I know I must act know before he's gone out of my reach. I must bring him back if Leonardo has any chance of survival. I close my eyes in meditation knowing it will be the only way to reach Raphael now. He has locked himself away from the outside. I hope it is not to late.

'_My son,'_ I say with my mind. I can sense he had stopped walking, but I am not answered so I try again. _'My son, speak to me.'_ I know he can hear me, but he still refuses to respond. I can feel the darkness within his mind close in on me. _'Raphael!'_ I say only to hear an echoed version of my call come back to me. I know he is somewhere here for I would not be able to feel him so well if he was not. He is not gone as I feared, but he still refuses to answer my calls. I mentally shake my head, _'Don't let them do this to you.'_

At first I fear he will not answer me as he has before, but I am mistaken. His low mutter reaches me in a hopeless note. _'They've already done it.'_ Though I did suspect he might say something to that extent, I didn't fully expect the hurt it left in my heart. I did not let this be shown in the case it could hurt Raphael's progress.

'_I know you are stronger then that, my son.'_ I return. I hope I am able to clear his mind of his demons. I can sense it will be hard. Raphael has gone through unimaginable horrors in this place they call the 'infirmary'. I can see what they have done to my son, but I can never imagine what it could have done to him emotionally.

His response wasn't immediate. The words seem to form slowly in his mind, each one an internal struggle. _'I'm too weak to do anything,'_ He says, _'They've done it… They've broke me… There's nothing left to do then to wait for death to take me… It'll be easier then…'_

The pain digs deeper into my heart to hear my son think such thoughts. It takes me a minute to form my thoughts into words. _'Raphael,'_ I begin, slowly, _'You have to be strong, for your brothers. Leonardo is in danger. He stood up for me. He stood up for you. He's going to pay for it now. The Shredder is planning to execute him tomorrow. Raphael, Leonardo needs you. Your brothers need you. We need you to take the lead, my son.'_

When I finish, Raphael does not respond. I can tell it's not like last time. His silence speaks more then words. The barrier around him has shattered. Slowly his stunned silence turns to anger. I slowly leave my meditative stat and smile at him. I almost miss his return smile before my son continues to walk towards his original destination.

Raph's POV:

I can't _believe_ Leo gets sentenced to death just because he stuck up for me and Master Splinter! It's so unfair! I'm going to tear Shred-head up for this when I see him next! He pay for all of this! And soon! I'm going to put our plan into action as soon as possible. We have to act now. Leo needs me! I am not going to let him die! It has fallen to me to get all my family and friends out of this stinking place and I'm going to get that done!

I throw the door to my bunk-room open and stomp inside. Trek immediately looks up at my arrival and his eyes widen slightly. He smiles and walks over to me. "Trek," I say, "I'm getting us out of here."

"What brought this on, Raphael?" Trek asks me, surprised.

"I'm gonna need yer help on dis," I say, ignoring his comment. It isn't the time. We needed to get this done.

"Anything to help a friend," Trek says.

"We gotta get outta here sometime tamorrow," I say, "Before my brother gets executed. I need ta pass da message onta my bros, but I don't think the trench walls will be fast enough. I need more time!"

"We might have until daylight at the least." Trek says, "I have seen a few whilst I was here and they usually begin by late afternoon to nightfall."

"At least we have that much time…" I say in relief, "Alright, I'm gonna hafta get myself sent ta da trench ta write da message."

"I'll help."

**Author's note:** Alright, happy I "un-broke" Raph? He's fine-ish now! Of course now it's Leo you have to worry about... Will he be executed as the Shredder wants? You'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out! Please leave those wonderful reviews! I might update faster this time!


	16. Chapter 15

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**Warning:** THIS CHAPTER HAS SOME IMPLIED SEXUAL CONTENT! THIS IS THE ULTIMATE REASON I CHANGED THE RATING TO MATURE. IT WILL BE IN THE LAST POV (WHICH IS APRIL'S...).

**Author's note:** Alright, I'm not happy with the way this chapter officially "begins", but it was all I could do, so here it is! Leo's current position is not told in this chapter. That will be told in the _next_ chapter. I hope you like this chapter! This is when they meet up! Yayness!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the turtles & company. I just own my OCs and the plot!

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Mikey's POV:

Somehow, I manage to get into the trench again. I look at the wall of the trench and see the new messages. I smile when I see Raph is okay. His message says to meet in the alley between the Empire Building and the factory. I can't wait to see him again! I see that Donny had gotten in here before me. He wrote that he would be there as soon as he got out. That means that Don and Raph are probably already together. I wonder if they'll let me out soon so I can meet them as well.

Donny's POV:

As soon as I had gotten out of the trench, I had quickly retrieved my metal bo staff and entered the alley. Raph had already been there waiting for me. Our greeting had been short before we begin waiting for Mikey to arrive.

"How are you feeling, Raph?" I ask, hoping to pass the time.

"What do you think?" Raph asks back, wearily. He looks toward the entrance to the alley and says, "Mikey betta get here soon." He crosses his arms in front of him.

Raph's POV:

I'm going impatient. I sneak a glance over my shoulder at Don without him knowing. There's something about him that seems different, but I can't seem to put my finger on what it is. I guess we're all going to be different now.

Mikey chose that time to make his appearance. He walks slowly, trying not to let his chains make any noise. He smiles at us. "I've missed you two so much!" Mikey says. I notice his usually happy voice sounds almost sad. He slowly wraps his arms around me in a hug and I don't pull away. I've missed him as well, including his boundless energy.

Then Mikey goes over to hug Don as well. "Oh, Donny," He mumbles quietly.

"It's alright, Mikey," Donny says before pulling away and turning to me. Before he can say anything, Mikey interrupts.

"What happened to your mask, Donny?" He asks. I look at Don, only noticing this now. I'm surprised I hadn't noticed this until now. Don rubs his hand against the place where his mask would've been and looks away from us.

"I don't wanna talk about it." He says.

"Oh…" Mikey says, awkwardly, before turning towards me. "So, Raph? When's Leo coming?" I cringe at this and turn away from them. I didn't tell them yet because I didn't really want to worry them. Now I'm going to have to.

"That's why I had you guys come here." I say, "Leo, he's…" I take a deep breath before I can continue. "He's been sentenced to be executed sometime later today."

"What?!" Mikey asks.

"No," Donny says, "Not Leo…"

"Yes Leo," I say, "We're going to get everyone and then fight our way out of here."

"How are we gonna get in the Empire Building?" Mikey asks me.

"Yeah, this place is heavily guarded." Don adds.

"We go through here," I say, pointing towards a door almost completely camouflaged by the dark. "Through the…infirmary."

"Are you sure?" Mikey says, looking at me worriedly.

"Yes," I say abruptly as I open the door.

&&&&&&&&&&&

After Donny managed to get our chains off, we entered the Empire Building. There is a narrow stairwell that I can only barely remember from my trip here before. I led the way down until we come to a metal door with a small, square frosted window. I slowly open the door to see no one inside. I open it all the way and indicate to Mikey and Don to follow me.

I look around inside without thinking of the consequences. My eyes land on the metal table they had retrained me on before. I can almost see myself laying there screaming as they tortured me. I cover my ears and try to look away only for my eyes to land on the hocks they had dug into my wrists. I subconsciously rub my wrists as I look at them. I think I can still see the blood on them. This time I can't look away.

"Raph?" I hear Mikey say, worriedly. I feel someone grab my arm comfortingly and I turn to see Don looking at me as well.

"Come on," He says, "We should get going." I nod and allow myself to be pulled out of the room.

Donny's POV:

I've never seen Raph so scared before. He usually hides it so well, but when he was in that room, it was like all the memories of what they had done to him had clouded his vision. They must have done unimaginable horrors here to effect Raph like that. They pay for that! And when I find Leo, they pay for that as well! My now familiar anger wells up inside of as I clench my fist. As soon as we leave the infirmary through another door, I release Raph's arm.

"Thanks," He mutter almost inaudibly. I can hear a touch of his old anger in his voice, but I know it won't stay there. This place had definitely changed my older brother as well as Mikey. As we walk through hallway after hallway, we hear footsteps approaching and we quickly use the shadows for cover. I look down the hall and see a familiar face.

"Annie?" I ask, quietly. She turns to me in a start and then smiles in recognition.

"Donatello!" She says, "I didn't expect to see you here! Are you here to rescue me from this place?"

"You know her?" Raph asks me.

"Yeah," I say, "This is Annie. Annie, these are two of my brothers: Raphael and Michelangelo."

"It's so nice to meet you two!" Annie says, "April and Donatello told me so much about you!" I feel more then see Raph glance at me.

"Where is April?" I ask.

"Top floor about three doors down from Shredder's domain." She says.

"I'm guessin' she'll be hard ta save wit'out blowin' our cover." Raph says.

"I can help you," Annie says, "I know karate! I just prefer not to use it."

"Do you know where Casey is?" Mikey asks.

"He should be in the dungeons." She says, "This way, guys!" As we follow her, Raph walks up to me.

"She's too happy." He says.

"She's only been here about two weeks less then us," I say, "I think April keeps her happy. They were friends before Annie met me."

"I'm glad this place hasn't gotten to her yet." Mikey says from the other side of me. I look at him to see a distant look enter his eyes. "This place is horrible." I wrap my arm over his shoulder in hopes to comfort him.

April's POV (warning: implied explicit content):

I was on my way to my room when a guard stops me. "Hey, where ya goin' li'l' lady?" He asks. I back away from him, but he grabs my arm and I wince as he twists it slightly. "I think I've been holding myself back for too long now."

"Let go of me!" I yell. He ignores me as he drags me into the now open elevator doors.

"Ya look so sexy in dat li'l' outfit o' yours, lady," He says, "I don't know if I can keep my hands off ya any longer." He pushes me up against the wall of the elevator and holds me there with his body pressed up against me as he starts touching me. I try to push him off me, but I can't. The sound of the elevator doors opening is only a brief relief. The guard begins dragging me by my arm and forces me into the first room we come to. He follows me in and basically throws me onto the bed. _Oh someone please help me!_

**Author's note:** They are together (excluding Leo) now! Yay! Happiness! Please leave a review!


	17. Chapter 16

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**Author's note:** Hey everyone! I guess it's every OTHER day now with update status... That sucks... Anywhere here's the next chapter! I don't know what I think about it really... I wish it where longer... The next TWO chapters before the epilouge WILL be longer! I'm not that great with battle scenes, so just know that while your reading. This was the hardest to write after Leo's POV (who was locked in a room right next to Casey's cell before he was removed!). I had to scrap the whole battle scene and start over from the beginning and I wouldn't have been able to do it if it hadn't been for my friend, Mrs-Raphael-Hamato!

**My reply to Leonardo15:** I have to reply to this because really good points were brought to my attention! On the day of Leo's execution, the guards had Mikey, Donny, and Raph in the trench for only a few hours (the Shredder wanted them out during Leo's execution so they can watch it. Well, it didn't go the way he planned and actually turned out to help the brothers instead!). Usually they stay in there for two days (sometimes it's extended or shortened depending on the circumstances). Donny and Mikey are the only ones who have similar weapons to what they are used to. Raph is using the chains that were once used against him and Leo? Leo is NOT going to fight in this battle AT ALL! Poor Leo. He can't (and probably wouldn't anyway) fight due to the situation you will find him in in this chapter... (Leo gets practically broken but in a different way then Raph had...)

**Disclaimer:** Yeah, I don't own the turtles & company, but I do own the plot and OCs! Please enjoy this chapter ignoring the fact that my battle scenes are mediocre...

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Casey's POV:

It surprises me when I hear someone at the other side of the door to my cell. I quickly stand up from my bed and glare at the door. I hear the lock click and the door and the doorknob turns. The door opens and I stare at my visitors with my eyes wide.

"Guys?" I ask, weakly. I watch as Raph, Don, and Mike enter my cell.

"Come on, Case," Raph says, "We hafta get goin'."

"Leo's still in danger," Don says.

"What?! Why?!" I ask.

"No time to explain," Raph says as he grabs my arm and pulls me out of the room. That's when I notice the girl. She was waiting just outside the door and begin following us as we start moving.

"Who's the girl?" I ask.

"Annie," Don says.

"Casey, you look…different," Mikey says.

"It's those stupid punks fault!" I say, "They never let me out of that stupid cell. Not even fer a minute!"

"At least you weren't ever close to death." Don says.

"Or thought ya were." Raph says.

"Or actually died." Mikey says, "Or had to watch someone die in front of you." I turn to look at each in turn. All three of them were looking away from each other lost in their own memories. Even I could feel the tension between them.

"Where's April again?" Raph asks.

"Follow me," Annie says. She begins to lead us towards a set of stairs.

&&&&&&&&&

Right before we reach the top floor, I hear screaming. "Guys, I think I hear April!" I say.

"This floor?" Raph asks.

"But we still have one more to go…" Annie says.

"Yes, '_this floor'_!_"_ I snap at Raph.

"Whateva," Raph says, "But I'm goin' first."

"Not wit'out me yer not!" I shoot back at him.

"This is NOT the time!" Don says as he steps between us. "Leo's life is still on the line here! We're gonna get this over with right now! HURRY UP!" I think I can cut the silence with a knife after that.

"Donny?" Mike asks, worriedly.

"Come on!" Don says as he opens the door. We slowly follow him out the door. The hallway is strangely empty and I can still hear April's screams. They're coming from a door off the elevator.

"Here," I say. I slowly open the door and my eyes widen at the sight. The little I can see of her is just bare skin. A giant of a man was on top of her. I turn away briefly to grab the chains Raph was going to use as a weapon and run into the room. I wrap the chains around the punk's neck and pull him away from April and onto the floor.

"Casey?" I hear April say slowly, before I hear her whimper. When the punk stops struggling in my grasp, I turn to her. She had already wrapped a blanket around herself.

"Now, let's get movin'!" Raph says as he removes his chain weapon from around the punk's unconscious form.

Leo's POV:

My anger has disappeared now. I didn't even struggle as the guards brought me here. I knew it wouldn't be worth it. The raised platform they took me to, I can imagine, is really high off the ground below. High enough for all the workers in this place to see what is to become of me. The guards shove me back into a pole and pull my arms roughly behind me. I barely make any sound. I can't believe I let my anger take control of me yesterday! Now I'll never be able to get my brothers out of here. I'm a disgrace to my family. How will they ever be able to forgive me?

I watch as the Shredder walks onto the platform. He turns to face the crowd of anxiously watching workers and addresses the crowd, but I don't bother to listen. It's not important to me what he has to say. I hope my brothers don't get to see me like this. It's bad enough as it is. When he's finished speaking, he turns and walks toward me. He lifts my head by my chin and forces me to look at him. "I'll enjoy watching you die." He says, "Soon your brothers will follow." I glare at him but choose not to speak. "Any last words, Leonardo?" He asks me. I close my eyes and pull away from his grasp as my only response. "Then burn!" He says. He moves to urn away from me, but then turns back. "Oh, and before I forget," He says as he pulls Donny's mask out from somewhere and ties it around my shoulder, "If you care about this so much, then I'll let it burn with you." I look down as he walks away in time to see a fire start below my feet. I subconsciously try to move my legs out of it's reach only to find they have been tied to the pole as well. The smoke rising up from the flames causes me to start coughing. I know I'm going to die, I just hope it will be quick.

Raph's POV:

I can't believe Casey used _my_ chains to kill some guy. Why doesn't he find his own weapon, huh? I lead the way back towards the staircase but stop when I hear Mikey yell, "Look!" I turn to see him pointing out of the large window next to him. I walk over with everyone else as Mikey continues, "The execution's already starting!" I look out of the window to see a fire increase in ferocity under Leo's feet on a platform about only four or five stories lower then were we're standing.

"Then let's do sum'thin' about it!" I yell as I grip the chains tighter I my grasp.

"Not so fast!" I hear Hun say from behind us. We all turn to face him as he continues, "Yer not goin' anywhere."

"I'm gonna kill right now, Hun!" I growl but before I can step forward, Donny places a hand on my shoulder and ways forward instead.

"You'll pay for everything you've done here!" He roars at Hun with his fists clenched. My eyes widen as I see Donny throw Hun towards the window. He watches as Hun crashes through the window and falls down the twelve stories to the ground below. I look towards Donny and notice he is breathing heavily and his fists are still clenched together.

"Donny?" Mikey says with that same worried tone as before. Donny turns to him in a start as if he only just realized he was there.

"Come on," I say, "Leo still needs our help." I say. I grab hold of Casey and prepare to jump. "Follow me." I say before jumping through the Hun-sized hole holding Casey over my shoulder. As I fall through the air, I feel the ends of my mask fly up behind me and whip against each other. The feeling abruptly ends when my feet hit the platform. I let Casey go and push off the ground, launching myself towards Leo. I ignore the flames as I quickly free Leo from the pole and, draping him over my shoulder, run back out towards where my brothers and friends were waiting.

"Why did you do that, Raph?!" Don yells at me, "Ya coulda gotten killed!"

"Hey I saved Leo, didn't I?" I say as I lay Leo down on the ground and kneel down beside him. He still hasn't moved since I rescued him. The smoke of the fire had darkened his skin and his legs are badly burned. I lay a hand on his chest and lean in to hear for his breathing. He wasn't breathing well, but at least he was at all. He starts coughing harshly and I quickly turn him onto his side.

"Don's…mask…" He chokes out weakly and barely audible without opening his eyes. I look at him curiously for a minute before I notice Donny's mask tied around his shoulder. I quickly untie it.

"We hafta get off this wooden furnace!" Casey yells out and I look up to see the fire was starting to spread. It had already claimed most of the platform.

"We're gonna hafta jump." I say. I'm really getting sick of this place. I pick Leo back up, carefully and look over the edge of the platform at the ground below.

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**Author's note:** So what do you think? Please review like always! It'll make me feel better about this chapter! Did you like the one out of a few lines I gave Leo? He barely gets any in the chapters to come...


	18. Chapter 17

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**Author's note:** Here's the next chapter! We're back to the long ones! Yay! One more chapter after this one and then we've got the epilouge! I think I might end up having 100 reviews by the time this is over as I usually have close to six after I post a chapter! That's so sweet and awesome! So far I only have 95 and that's a good number! This fic is turning out to have 20 chapters by the time I'm finshed (though two of those chapters include the prolouge and epilouge...). I don't like how this chapter turned out but there are some pretty cool scenes! The last Donny POV was so hard to write! Seriously, I had such bad writer's block, I didn't think I'd ever get it finished! Well I did get it out, so I'm happy now! I'll miss writing this, but that means I'll have more time to focus on my other fics! I might even start posting my fic "The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend" (A fic about Shredder's biological daughter, Katashi "Haddie", who hates her father and might even fall in love with one of the turtles though I don't know which one yet...)! So go ahead and read this chapter! NOTE: Hun was NOT killed when Don threw him out of the window! He managed to hold on and get to the ground safely! That's why one of the coming scenes is possible!

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own the turtles & company, but my OCs and the plot is mine!

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Mikey's POV:

I watch Raph as he gets ready to jump before I look over the edge and quickly back up. "Guys?" I ask, worriedly, "You do notice how far the ground is from here, right? I mean jumping down here was fine, but-" Before I can finish, Raph interrupts me.

"If ya wanna die here then go ahead, but I'm jumpin'." He says.

"Mike's right, Raph," Donny says, "Not even we can jump down from this height. We'll get seriously hurt." I smile at hearing the normal, not reckless, Don I remember.

"Just because we've neva done it before doesn't me it can't be done!" Raph shouts back, "Besides, I don't wanna think I saved Leo just ta fail here!" Before either could speak, I shake off my fear.

"We'll… I guess if we do jump we could still be alive, right?" I ask. I look at the fire slowly coming towards us and take a deep breath before I can finish. "I think I'd rather take my chances jumping instead of burning alive up here."

"So your takin' Raph's side now, Mikey?" Donny asks as he gives me this degrading look I never thought I would see, "I'm surprised you can change yer mind so quickly-"

"DON!" April yells. Everyone instantly turns to look at her. She unconsciously tightens the blanket around herself and continues wearily, "What's gotten into you guys? You're fighting each other when you should be trying to find a way out of this hell-hole." Annie walks up to her then and places an arm on her shoulders.

"This fighting's useless," Annie says, "I don't wanna die like my family probably did! I know we have to get out of here so come on!" She leaves April's side latches herself on Donny's carapace. "Jump in hopes to free the slave-workers and stop the Shredder!" I catch April smile at her.

I walk over to April, then, and say in my best impression of my old self, "Welcome aboard the Mikey Express, April!" I pick her up and look back to see I'm now the only one left to jump. I quickly run to the edge as the heat of the fire seems to follow me. I look down at the ground below, fearfully.

"Hurry, Mikey!" April whispers in my ear. I nod and leap off the platform. The fire seems to follow behind me for an instant, and then I'm falling through the air. The ground looms up below me. I take a deep breath before adapting my ninja instincts and reading myself for impact. As soon as my feet touch the ground, I go into a roll to lighten the impact. I come to a stop and quickly lift myself up to look at April.

"You okay?" I ask her and she nods.

"What about you?" She asks. I slowly get to my feet and test my left foot. I had twisted it on impact and it was slightly sore, but otherwise I was fine.

"I'm alright considering…" I say. I look around and spot my bros shouting distance away from already engaged in battle. I look the other way and see Master Splinter still tied in front of the Empire Building. I walk over to April and take her hand. "Come on," I say, "I've gotta free sensei now." I lead April over and cut Splinter's bonds. April catches him as he falls weakly into her arms. I notice his tail is in a knot and I quickly untie it. That must have hurt… "You okay, sensei?" I ask.

"I am now that you're here, Michelangelo." He says, weakly. April helps me carry him to where my bros are waiting. I lay him down next to Leo and turn to see Annie walking over to us.

"Annie?" I ask, "You said you know karate?"

"Yep," She says.

"Then help me keep them safe," I say, indicating Leo and master Splinter.

"Sure!" She says, excitedly, just as a guard notices us and goes to attack her. She quickly gets into a fighting stance and kicks the dude, causing him to collapse in obvious pain. I smile at her. She is definitely unpredictable.

Raph's POV:

I have to admit that April's right. We have changed so much since our imprisonment. I don't know if we'll ever be the same again. I'm also starting to realize what Leo must go through when he leads us. He actually made it seem somewhat easy, but now I know it's not easy at all. Of course, this could be because I'm just not a good leader to begin with.

As I'm fighting I hear someone say, "Well, it seems you four are together again, but not for long." I quickly turn to see the Shredder as the guards split to let him through. I glare at him as he approaches us. The Shredder stops walking and continues, "I will finally kill each and every one of you and without your pathetic 'leader' you are no match for me.

"Not on yer life!" I growl as I step towards him with my fists clenched over the chains in my hands.

"It's your life I would be worrying about, Raphael." He says, "When I'm finished dealing with you, I will let you watch as I kill your brothers before I finish you off."

"Ya betta hope I'm dead by then, 'cause I won't let ya near them if I'm still alive!" I say. Without even thinking about it, we start circling each other. It will be just me and him as the guards around us go off to fight their own battles. Shred-head decides to attack then, and I quickly turn to block it, but we both stop as an arrow soars between us and imbeds itself in the leg of a guard. We both turn to see Trek jump into our circle and I look at the weapon he's holding, curiously.

"We'd ya get da crossbow?" I ask him.

"I've been building it ever since they took my original." Trek says before he eyes the Shredder, "Take him down for me, my friend."

"I'll be glad to." I say, "Go help my bros, alright?"

"Of course." He says before he disappears back into the crowd. I turn back to Shred-head ready for the battle to come.

Casey's POV:

As I'm fighting, I see and arrow imbed itself in the guard I was fighting's chest. An alien, a muscular man, and an old grandpa seem to be leading a rebellion. "Huh?" I ask, confused.

"Just get back to fighting," The alien says, "We're here to help. I'm Trek."

"I'm Cliff," says muscle man.

"And I'm Chief Crayne," says the old man.

A young teenage boy walks up to me next. "Do ya happen ta know where Leo is?" He says.

"Who's askin'?" I ask him as I slam my fist into a guard's fist.

"Caden," The kid says, "I want ta know if Master Leo is alright!"

"He's over there," I say as I point over my shoulder where I remember Raph had placed him and get back to fighting as Caden runs off.

"I shall assist you," Trek says as he wraps his long tail around a guard's neck and throws him aside easily.

"Sure," I say. _Wow, Trek sure can fight!_

Donny's POV:

I watch as Raph battles against the Shredder for a bit before returning to my own battle. I slam my metal bo staff into the guards surrounding me, knocking them out cold. It's so much easier to accomplish that now though I'm still not used to the weight of it. As I'm fighting, I feel chains wrap around me, pinning my arms to my side. Before I can yell out, I feel a hand close around my mouth. It's not like my scream would of down much anyway, as the volume of the battle had increased.

"Yer gonna pay fer throwin' me outta dat window." I hear Hun's whisper in my ear. My eyes widen and then narrows at his voice. "Now yer comin' wit' me!" He says. Before I can struggle anymore, he forcefully bangs my head against the ground and I almost instantly lose consciousness.

Splinter's POV:

From where I laid, I could see what had become of Donatello. I call out to get Michelangelo's attention, but he is busy with his own fierce battle. When I look back, my son's already disappeared among the crowd. I hope he can handle it by himself

Mikey's POV:

When sensei had called for me, I had just noticed Karai as she was about to strike Leo with her wakizashi. I know he is still unconscious and wouldn't be able to defend himself against her attack so I block it with one of my nunchukus' chain. "Karai!" I say angrily, "Leave him alone! He can't fight back and you know that!"

"I was just trying to save him from his misery." She says.

"Yeah right!" I say.

"Of course you wouldn't be able to see the good in what I am going to do because he is your brother," She says, "Let me end his sufferings. He has no desire to live anymore."

"You're lying!" I say. Karai manages to kick me back and I trip over Leo's unconscious form, landing on top of him. Before I can get back up, she slices my legs with her wakizashi. I yell out and jump to my feet, kicking her back in the process. I ignore the pain in my legs and glare at Karai, twirling my nunchukus. She only glares back.

Donny's POV:

I slowly become aware of the cold floor beneath me. The throbbing in my head causes me to moan. I reach my hand up to rub the back of my head to feel cool, sticky blood.

"Get up!" I hear Hun yell. I open my eyes and look at him before my vision's cleared up. I blink a few times to clear my vision and notice he's holding my metal bo staff. I glare at him, giving myself a headache. "Get up!" He yells again as he kicks me. "I want you to see me as I kill you once and for all!" He hits me hard with my bo staff a few times before I manage to get a hold of it.

"No," I say, harshly, "You're the one who's going to die today, Hun!"

"Is that so?" He asks as he tries to jerk my bo staff out of my hands, but I continue to keep a firm hold on it. He kicks me in the gut causing me to cough up blood, but my grip doesn't loosen. "I'll enjoy killing you," He says.

"Too bad that's not gonna happen." I say. Slowly, I get to my feet and try to force Hun to let go of my bo staff. "You've had so many chances to kill me and you haven't yet. Now you're out of chances." I say as I loom around at my surroundings, "Why would you bring me to the infirmary, Hun? Are you too scared to fight me in public is case someone tries to help me?"

"I can kill you anywhere, freak," Hun says, "This time there's no way to save yourself! No one can come to your rescue!"

"I don't need anyone to beat you!" I yell as I finally manage to pull my bo staff out of his grasp, but the force I had to use causes me to fall backwards into some computer equipment that had been scattered about the room. Hun smirks as he slowly walks toward me.

"You can't beat me like that!" He says. I quickly stumble into a standing position and twirl my bo staff a little before I get into my fighting stance. For know I must ignore the pain I feel until Hun's dead at my feet.

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**Author's note:** Alright, what did you think of this chapter? Please leave a review! If you manage to get my reviews to 100 I'll pass out cyber cookies to all! Ya know, if I didn't love Donny so much, he would not be fighting for his life against Hun right now... .


	19. Chapter 18

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**Author's note:** Here's the last chapter. The Epilouge is next and like I said before, it will be fairly short. I'll even try to get that done today though I don't know if I will or not... Be on the lookout though! I'm so happy you are all enjoying my fic so much! 102 reviews! I'm so happy! Leo gets some lines in this chapter and Raph gets three POVs! I don't know how he managed that... Maybe he managed to do something to me to make me give him and extra POV? Who knows...

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the turtles & company as I said before. Owning my OCs and the plot make up for it though!

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April's POV:

I watch the battles going on around me feeling a tad bit helpless. I wanted to help, but I couldn't. I wrap the blanket more securely around myself. I don't know what to think anymore.

"Leo!" I hear a kid yell as he runs up beside me where Leo laid. I look at the kid curiously as he looks at Leo. "Is it my fault?" The kid asks.

"Who are you?" I ask the kid.

"Oh!" The kid says, turning towards me and giving me a sad smile. "The name's Caden. Is Leo gonna be alright, dudette?"

"I think so," I say worriedly.

"Why would it be your fault?" Annie asks as she glances back at us before kicking away another guard.

"He's been worried about me eva since I came back from tha infirmary thanks ta that muscle man with his girly braid and freaky tattoo." He says. I laugh at his description of Hun. "Then he heard one of his brothers got into the infirmary as well. He already knew what they did by then." He raises his bandaged hand before he continues, "It only got worse when he saw them messin' wit' 'im." He points to Splinter then. "I never saw sensei kill anyone before…" I hear Splinter chuckle slightly.

"You call Leo, sensei?" I ask.

"Yep." He says, "He taught me a little bit of ninjitsu, but he said I wasn't allowed to fight yet…"

"And you said he killed someone?" I ask next.

"Yep, it was really scary. He wrapped his chains around one of the guards' neck and strangled him.

Mikey's POV:

Before Karai is able to do anything more, I quickly slam my metal nunchuku into her chest. She recovers almost instantly and slashes her wakizashi through the air to cut me again, but I just manage to block her attack. She moves to kick me, but quickly dodge it.

"Why don't you move aside?" Karai hisses in my ear before I can kick her away.

"You're not gonna kill my brother, Karai!" I say as I manage to wrap my nunchukus' chains around the blade of her wakizashi. "I'll make sure you won't."

"That's not your choice to make," She says in response.

"It's not yours either!" I say, "And obviously Leo can't speak for himself right now!"

"He was ready for death. When it gets that far it's better to let him die like he was supposed to." She says as she blocks my attack.

"No!" I yell, "I'm not gonna let you take him away from me!"

"Just give up already you insolent fool!" She says in complete annoyance. She throws me back into a wall and I fall to the ground slightly winded. I struggle back to my feet as she starts towards Leo. I run at Karai and kick her hard in her side. She hits the wall with such force, it cracks slightly and she doesn't move afterwards.

"Woah!" I hear a kid say that I had seen talking to April and Annie before. "That was awesome, turtle-dude!"

"Is she dead?" April asks me.

"I don't know," I say before turning away from Karai's still unmoving body and looking at April instead. "I don't think she'll be bothering us anytime soon."

Raph's POV:

I wrap my chains I'm holding around Shredder's wrist as he threatens to much me again with his gauntleted fist. As I concentrate on holding his attack back, he raises his other fist. Before he's able to strike, I force his other arm down and kick his in his side. Instead of flipping him as I wanted to, he manages to grab my ankle and forces me down instead. From the ground, I swing my foot around and manage to trip him. I jump to my feet, wrap the chain around my fist, and slam it down towards the Shredder's face, but he manages to roll away before my fist reaches him causing me to hit the ground instead. Before I'm able to do anything more, he kicks me in my head, sending me tumbling backwards. I land on my plastron, facing away from the Shredder. I hear his maniacal laugh as he approaches me.

"You are done for, reptile!" He says, but I only smirk at his comment. I roll onto my carapace, holding a gun some guard had conveniently dropped nearby in both of my hands, pointing it towards the Shredder. "How amusing," The Shredder says, "Are you going to shoot me with that? I don't think you can." I only glare at him some more as I pull the trigger.

Donny's POV:

Hun smashes his fist into his hand as he glares at me. I twirl my bo staff above my head and slam it against his head. The motion sends him back a few steps, but he quickly recovers and slams his arm into me, sending me flying into more of the scattered computer equipment. I can hear the broken control panel sizzle and spark beneath me and I try to get back up. I feel Hun force me back down, his hand wrapped around my throat. I struggle against him before I finally manage to kick him off of me. I get to my feet, grasping, and pick up my dropped bo staff. I watch as Hun gets to his feet before I use my bo staff to slam him back down.

"Yer not gonna win this time," I say as a hint of sadistic pleasure enters my eyes. "You will pay for every single last thing you have done her. I'll make you pay!" I twirl my bo staff above my head with both hands before slamming it into a computer terminal, causing it to burst into flames and then turn back to Hun as he struggles to his feet. I smile sadistically as I see the fear in his eyes. "It's time to go to the burning infernos of Hell, Hun!" I yell as I kick him back and slam my bo staff against his head harder then ever until I actually hear the crack of his skull. I watch with a sinister smile as he falls limply against the wall and then I turn to the still working computers.

When I'm done with a few tinkering on some of the computer terminals, I quickly exit the building through the back staircase. As soon as I'm outside, I start to really feel the pain of all my injuries and I lean against the wall of the infirmary to catch my breath. When my strength returns, I run into the riot going on outside. Just as I reach where I know my brothers are, I hear the bang of gunfire. I look around curiously for a minute before I hear my name called out.

"Don!" I hear Casey yell out, I turn towards him as he runs over to me. "You look terrible, what happened?"

"We need to get out of here now, Casey." I say, "The Empire Building's gonna blow and it might start an avalanche."

"I'll tell Raphael." An alien tells me before he runs off.

"Come on," I say as I grab Casey's hand and run towards where I know the others are.

Raph's POV:

I get to my feet and walk towards the Shredder's unmoving form. I toss the gun aside just as trek appears next to me. "Come, my friend," He says, "Your brother says the place is going to explode."

"I'll go in a second," I say without looking at him.

"Raphael," He says as he grabs my hand, "Your opponent is finished. Now we must leave."

"Oh alright! I'm coming!" I say, annoyed.

Mikey's POV:

When I heard the sound of gunfire, I froze remembering the way Joe looked as the bullets pierced her body. I know a few tears fell down my face before I could stop them.

"Are you alright, Michelangelo?" I hear Chief ask me and I look up at him. "It's Jona isn't it?" He asks. I look around at everyone around me: Caden, April, Annie, Master Splinter, and Leo, who was still unconscious, before I turn back to Chief. He smiles as he seems to understand before he sits down next to me.

"She was really close to you, wasn't she?" April asks, very softly. I only nod, briefly. "I wish I could've met here."

"Guys!" I hear Donny say as he runs over to use, basically dragging Casey behind him. "We've gotta get out of here, now!"

"Where's da fire, turtle-dude?" Caden asks.

"This place is set to blow!" Donny says.

"That Trek guy went ta get Raph," Casey adds as he finally manages to jerk his arm out of Donny's grasp. He walks over to April and asks, "Are ya alright, April?"

"I'm fine, I think," April says, allowing him to help her to her feet with his arms around her. Raph runs into view then with an Alien close behind him.

"Alright, let's go!" Raph says.

Raph's POV:

"Mikey, Donny could you two help Master Splinter?" I ask as I lift Leo up, bridal-style. Leo moans softly in my arms only loud enough for me to hear. "It's okay, Leo," I whisper to him, "We're gonna getcha outta here now." I look up to see Donny and Mikey helping Splinter to his feet. "Trek?" I ask, "Could ya get all da people out?"

"Of course, my friend." Trek says.

"I'll help!" An old man says as he stands up from where he had been sitting next to Mikey. "I'll get this crowd in order."

"Annie and I can help too!" A kid says.

"I don't know Caden," Annie says, "There's so many people!"

"Come on! Be brave like Master Leo was!" He says in response. I watch as all four run off before turning back to the others.

"Let's get movin'." I say as I begin to lead my family and friends through the crowd of people. As soon as we're clear of the place, I lay Leo down on the ground beside me. I hear the sounds of the building exploding behind us and we stay there for some time watching as the place of our nightmares blows up in smoke.

"You did good, my son," Master Splinter says to me.

"Thanks, sensei," I say in response, bowing my head, slightly.

"How do we get home now?" Mikey asks.

"That's a very good question, Mike," Don says, "And I have another one: where are we?"

"We're in the less populated are of New York state." Trek says as he exits through the hole in the mountain followed by the rest of our friends we met here.

"How do you know?" I ask him.

"There are many things you still don't know about me, Raphael." Trek says.

"I have a problem!" Annie exclaims with her arm in the air, "Caden and I are orphans! We have no place to go!"

"That's not the only problem, dudette!" Caden says, "Because of my promise to sensei, I wasn't able to fight one lousy guard!"

"Annie can stay with me." April says.

"Caden…stay…wit'…us…" Leo struggles to say loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Sensei!" Caden yells as he leans over to hug Leo.

"OW, OUCH!" Leo yells out and Caden quickly steps away.

"Sorry, sensei!" He says.

"Stop…callin'…me…sensei…" Leo mumbles causing everyone to laugh.

"Yer always way too hard on yerself, Leo." Caden says as he turns to walk back over to Annie, "Ya need ta lighten up, turtle-dude!" Leo grunts before he struggles to sit up on his own. I roll my eyes, before I kneel down next to him and help him.

"We can take one of those trucks to get home!" Mikey says, suddenly, as he points behind us. We turn to see a few trucks parked nearby.

"How are we going to drive back if we still don't know our exact position?" Donny asks.

"I'll drive you as far as the city," Trek says, "Then I must leave you."

"Where do you plan to go?" I ask him.

"Don't worry about me, my friend." Trek says, "We will meet again." I smile, hopefully, at him.

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**Author's note:** So what did you guys think? Please leave a review like always! I love Leo's part in this!


	20. Epilogue

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**Author's note:** Well here's the epilogue. I had to finish it today 'cause I felt like it! It's not in anyone's POV but it does center around Master Splinter. Hope you enjoy it! I had so much fun writing this and now, again, it comes to a close. This is the last part now. There will be no more after this!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the turtles & company. OCs and plot our mine. So now that it's over I will start focusing on another one of my fics! (I'm trying to finish the update for Past and Present right now, but it's taking longer then I expected...)

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Epilogue:

A full day has passed since they had escaped from the slave camp and they had stayed at April's place for the night as they were not ready to go back to the lair. Master Splinter sighed, sadly, knowing what he was going to ask of his sons and friends would be hard for all of them but also knowing that it must be done for them to heal. He had his sons sit down of the couch together and he addressed them. "What we went through these past two months will never leave us, but one thing must be done if we are to ever heal from our emotional pain. We must not hold secretes from each other now. I know this will be hard for all of us, but we must talk of our experiences. I believe it will help us get through this time in our lives as only then will we be able to help each other. I fear it will be worse if we do not do this, my sons."

When he had finished his speech, his sons glanced at each other, worriedly. No one wanted to voice what they had gone through. They all believed it would only cause them to relive the terrors they faced alone. Most of the scars they now carried, both physical and emotional, will never leave them. They will always be constant reminders of their pain and sorrows. Master Splinter sighed again as he looked at each in turn. "I know it will be difficult," He said, "Nut this must be done. I do not want to force you to talk about this, but I warn you it will be worse when you finally do. Now who wants to start first?"

They glanced at each other again, nervously. None of them wanted to go first. Michelangelo looked down at his knees with thoughts of Joe's tragic demise flashing in front of his eyes, Donatello frowned as he thought of all of what Hun had done to him, Leonardo shifted nervously under his sensei's gaze, remembering his foolish outburst that almost got him killed, and Raphael allowed a tear to fall down his face as he remembered the torture he had endured in the infirmary. Master Splinter documented all his sons reactions, sorrowfully, hoping they would open up to him so he would know what was on each of their minds.

Raphael stood and walked towards the wall away from his brothers with Master Splinter's eyes following him. He sighed deeply and full of his own sorrow as he looked into his sensei's eyes. "Alright," He said, warily, as he leaned back against the wall, "I'll go first…"

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**Author's note:** Now this fic goes to the completed section... Thanks for sticking with me through all of it! I love dedicated readers! Please review like always.


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